Golden Guardian
by pikaace
Summary: A retelling of the story of Yu-Gi-Oh, but with a new, golden friend who will change the tale quite a bit. Unexpected OC. Read to find out who or what she is ;
1. A Golden Friend

Chapter 1

It was a rainy day in Domino City. Everyone rushed through the streets hoping to quickly get out of the rain. But as they rushed through the streets, they took no notice of a small furry puppy sitting in the entrance of an alleyway. The pups' fur was a golden color and she wore a golden collar around her neck with a strange eye symbol in the middle. The water soaked her mud streaked fur as tears fell from her eyes. She wept and whimpered but no one stopped. The pup had lived on the streets ever since she was young with hardly any food or water, and no one had ever taken pity on her poor condition.

More hot tears came to her eyes as the feeling of loneliness and neglect closed around her. Just then, one human stopped in front of her. The umbrella he carried shielded her from the rain as he crouched down to her eye level. Then, he did something no one else had ever done to the puppy. He patted her.

"What's wrong? Did you lose your owner?" the human asked as he rubbed her ears gently.

The puppy looked up into the large violet eyes of a young boy. He looked to be about fourteen, his hair was black and shaped somewhat like a star with a purple outline and blonde bangs poking out from his forehead and a gold pyramid hung around his neck that had the same eye symbol as her collar.

As the dog stared at the boy she could see such innocence and kindness inside him, but also a slight feeling of loneliness.

The boy smiled at her. "You shouldn't be out here in the rain, why don't you come with me?" he offered.

The puppy continued to stare at him as he got up and motioned for her to follow. "It'll be okay, I promise." He said.

Without thinking, she trotted after him and stayed close. She followed the boy until they got to a small house that was connected to a game store. They entered the house and the boy put his umbrella away.

He then knelt down in front of her again. "So, do you have a name?" he asked.

"Golden." The pup answered shyly.

The boy flinched a little. "You can talk?" he asked.

Golden closed her eyes and cringed in fear. After a few seconds, nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see that the boy was still staring at her.

"You're not sending me away," she said.

She had a very high, somewhat squeaky and young sounding voice. She sounded almost like a five year old girl.

The boy frowned in confusion, "Why would I do that?" he asked.

The dog was speechless, all the other humans who discovered she could talk almost immediately sent her away out of fear; but this boy wasn't even moving.

The boy smiled at her, "Well Golden, my name's Yugi Muto, nice to meet you." He said warmly and he stood up.

"The first thing you need is a bath, you stay here while I get it ready." and he walked off.

Golden did as she was told and looked around the room. It was quite small, but seemed very comfortable.

"Golden," Yugi called after a few minutes.

Golden looked up as he peeked from a doorway. "I got the bath all ready, let's get you cleaned up." He said.

Golden trotted to the bathroom and Yugi picked her up, took off her collar, and placed her in the warm water. Soon, she was covered with soap and Yugi rubbed it into her fur gently. The mud melted away from her fur and Golden felt more refreshed than ever before. Once she was rinsed, Yugi lifted her out of the water and dried her off with a warm towel. Golden shook the rest of the water off and Yugi drained the water. Her fur was now shiny and soft.

Golden was still overwhelmed by this boy's kindness; no one had ever shown her so much compassion.

Yugi picked up her gold collar, "Looks like your collar could use a wash too," he said smiling.

Golden smiled back. She felt she could trust this boy. Yugi then brought her back to the living room and fixed dinner for both him and Golden. Golden ate the food gratefully; she had never tasted food this good.

"Is it good?" Yugi asked.

Golden looked up at him and nodded.

"Well, there's plenty more, so eat all you like. Once you're done we'll figure out a plan to get you home." Yugi said.

Golden finished her food and stared at the ground.

"I brought you home tonight because I didn't want you to freeze out there," Yugi continued. "Your owner must be looking for you."

Golden closed her eyes. "I don't have an owner," she said sadly.

Yugi looked confused. "No owner? Then who takes care of you?" he asked.

Golden began to shiver as her sadness returned. "There's nobody. I don't have a home or family, I've been living on the streets as long as I can remember, and everyone sends me away because I can talk." She explained as tears came back to her eyes.

"I have nowhere to go." She said sadly.

Yugi looked at the dog sadly and he stood up. "I'll be right back," he said and walked out the door.

Golden waited from her spot for a while until Yugi came back inside. He walked toward her.

"You can stay here for the night, but on one condition: stop saying that you have nobody to look after you." He said.

Golden looked up at him, confused. "Why?" she asked.

Yugi knelt down in front of her. "Because, I'm not nobody." He said.

Golden's eyes grew big and she gasped. "You mean…. you?" she asked excitedly.

Yugi nodded. "Yep, my Grandpa said it was alright so you're a member of the Muto family from now on."

Golden jumped on him and nuzzled him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed.

Yugi rubbed her fur and smiled. After a while, Yugi brought Golden to his bedroom to get ready for bed. He turned out the lights and climbed under the covers with Golden curled up right next to him. After a while, Yugi fell asleep, but Golden was still awake. So much had happened and all her wishes have come true.

'I finally have a real home and a family,' she thought. She looked at Yugi who was sleeping peacefully. 'I had never trusted humans until now, but now I know what it means to be happy, all thanks to you Yugi.'

She settled down and nuzzled the warm covers. 'I promise I'll always be there for you Yugi; I owe you everything.' She thought and finally fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.


	2. The Heart of the Cards

Chapter 2

The next few days were the happiest days of Golden's life. She got used to being around Yugi and his grandpa and felt like a true family member (plus they found out Golden's collar was also an ancient artifact from ancient Egypt like Yugi's puzzle). But Golden always got bored when Yugi went to school. From the way he talked about it, it sounded like a lot of fun. Golden asked if she could go too, but Yugi told her that pets weren't allowed in school.

Finally, Golden decided she wanted to see for herself what school was like. Before Yugi left, Golden climbed into his backpack. Since she was pretty small, she could fit perfectly. Yugi noticed that his backpack seemed a little on the heavy side, but he just ignored it.

After a while, Golden peeked out of his backpack and found she was staring at a large building. There were lots of other kids around wearing almost the same outfit as Yugi. Only the girls were dressed differently. As Yugi went through the day, Golden watched and listened with admiration as the teachers went through their lessons. So far, no one had noticed her, but she had some close calls. At the beginning of one class Yugi reached into his backpack to grab one of his notebooks, but Golden slipped away just in time.

When the day finally ended, Yugi hung his backpack on the back of his chair. Golden peeked out and saw three other kids coming toward him. She recognized them from the beginning of the day. They must the friends Yugi told her about; they must be Joey, Tristan, and Tea. Yugi said he was going to introduce her to them one day, but Golden could already tell they were very close to Yugi. Golden must've dozed off because she snapped back to reality when she heard Yugi's voice.

"Hey Joey! Earth to Joey! Hey, are you in there? It's your turn,"

Golden peeked out of his backpack ever so slightly. Yugi was talking to a tall boy with blonde hair. She noticed there was a game board on the desk and both Yugi and Joey were holding cards in their hands. Then, another boy came up to Joey and wrapped his arm around his neck.

"Awww isn't he cute when he's thinking?" he teased.

Joey smirked. "Hey Tristan, Yugi here is teaching me how to play Duel Monsters," he said.

"Drooling Monsters?" Tristan asked.

Joey frowned, "DUEL Monsters ya nimrod!" he said as he shoved him away. Golden's ears pricked and her eyes widened at the word. Duel Monsters! That was her favorite game! It took everything she had to keep from jumping out of the backpack right there. Then a girl spoke up who Golden assumed to be Tea.

"They've both been at it for hours. Joey's getting the hang of it, but Yugi is like an expert!" she said.

Joey smirked and pulled a card from his hand. "Alright Yugi, it's time to duel!" he said as he slapped the card down on the desk. Golden tried to look at the card; it looked like a monster with only 800 attack points. Golden frowned; not the best monster she's seen, but Joey looked proud.

"Pretty good move, huh Yugi?" he asked tauntingly.

Yugi smiled and nodded. "Yep, pretty good move," he pulled a card from his hand and slapped down on the desk. "But not good enough!"

Golden's eyes widened at Yugi's card, a dragon with 1500 attack points! That was the kind of card you played in this game.

"What?" Joey cried. He looked devastated as he stared at Yugi's card. "Thanks a lot! All that power totally wipes me out!" he complained.

"Whoa, you STINK at this game Joey!" Tristan said smiling.

"Naw, Joey did fine, I just have better cards. My grandpa owns a game shop and I get all my best cards from him." Yugi explained.

Joey stood up, "Your own game shop! What are we waitin' for? Let's go!" He said excitedly.

Golden's nose began to twitch. She looked around to see that a large cloud of dust was floating around her. She must've been wagging her tail so much from all the excitement that she formed a dust cloud from Yugi's backpack. Golden tried to hold her breath but it was too late.

"Ahhh…ahhhhhh…ahhhhhhhh…." She breathed.

Tea looked at Yugi's backpack. "Yugi, I think your backpack is breathing," she said. Everyone turned toward the backpack. Finally, Golden let out a small sneeze that forced her head and front paws out of the backpack. Every one gasped at the puppy as she coughed and breathed in the clean air.

Yugi stood up. "Golden! Have you been in my backpack this entire time?" he asked.

Golden put one of her paws on her head and laughed nervously, "I guess you could say that," she said sheepishly. 'I am SO busted!' she told herself.

"Is this the dog you were talking about?" Tea asked.

Joey pointed at Golden, "And is it just me, or is it talkin'?" he asked shakily.

Yugi nodded, "I told you she was special; this is Golden." He said and he rubbed her head.

Golden smiled, "These guys must be Joey, Tristan and Tea who you told me about," she said.

Yugi nodded.

"I heard we were about to go to Grandpa's game shop," Golden said to change the subject.

"Yeah, that reminds me; maybe I could get Grandpa to show us this super rare card he's got!" Yugi said.

"You mean that pretty one he keeps hidden away?" Golden asked.

"Huh? You've seen it?" Yugi asked in shock.

Golden shrugged, "I may have sneaked a peak," she said smiling. "But I only saw it for a split second before Grandpa caught me."

Later that day, the children arrived at the Game shop. "Grandpa? I'm home!" he called. Grandpa was behind the counter and he smiled.

"I see you brought company," he said, "By the way, did you see Golden when you came in?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's right here," Yugi said. Golden came out of his backpack and peaked over his shoulder.

"Hi Grandpa," she said smiling.

"I see you also had a stowaway," Grandpa said.

Golden giggled nervously.

"Hey Gramps, can you show my friends your awesome super rare card?" Yugi asked.

"Rare card?" Grandpa asked.

Golden nodded eagerly, "Yeah, the pretty, blue one," she said.

"My special card?" Grandpa asked. He put his hand on his chin and thought for a second. Yugi clasped his hands together,

"Please please," he said.

"Pretty please?" Joey asked, bowing slightly,

"Please please please?" Golden asked sweetly.

Grandpa laughed, "How could I refuse?" he asked.

He reached under the counter and pulled out a small box. "You kids are in for a treat, I don't take this card out too often," he said as he placed it in front of him. "Ready? Here it is." he said and he pulled out the card and held it up to them.

It was a large blue and white dragon with deep blue eyes. It was the most beautiful card Golden had ever seen. "The Blue-eyes White Dragon. So rare, so powerful, I never let it leave my hand." Grandpa said.

Everyone stared in amazement at the card. "Wow, so cool," Golden breathed. Tristan reached down, took the card and looked at it causing Yugi, Tea and Golden to sweat-drop.

"Doesn't look all that special to me," he said before Grandpa swiped it back.

"This card is priceless! There are only four of them in the entire world!" Grandpa said firmly.

Joey smiled, "Speakin' of priceless, I'm ready to trade!" he said.

Grandpa turned away holding the Blue-eyes White Dragon card close. "Not for this card!" Grandpa said.

Joey sweat-dropped, "Naw, I didn't mean that card, I meant show me some other cool cards to get me started." He said when the door opened.

"Hello, can I help you?" Grandpa asked the figure in the doorway.

"If you can't, it certainly wouldn't surprise me," the figure answered coldly.

He looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, had brown hair and he carried a large silver briefcase. The tone of his voice caused Golden to shudder and duck back into Yugi's backpack.

"Seto Kaiba!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Kaiba?" Joey said in surprise.

Tristan frowned. "Doesn't he have a big fancy company to run? What's he doin' down here?" he wondered.

Kaiba smiled, "Not that it's any of your business, but I came to see the card."

"Hey, are you into Duel Monsters too?" Joey asked, "This is perfect, maybe we could all duel together sometime," he said.

"Me? Duel you?" Kaiba asked deviously as he walked toward them. "I would have more of a challenge playing Solitaire," he scoffed. "I am the number one ranked duelist in the country and the favorite to win the Duel Monsters Championship," Kaiba bragged. "Heh! You wouldn't last two minutes in a duel against me." He said.

Now Joey was mad, "Oooooh, I'm shakin'! Maybe you'd like to settle this with fists instead of cards!" he threatened.

Yugi quickly ran between Joey and Kaiba and held his hands up. "Whoa, take it easy Joey!" he warned.

"But Yugi, Kaiba's askin' for it," Joey said.

Kaiba continued to smile, "Now, does this shop have any worthwhile cards or not?" he asked, when his gaze fell on the Blue-eyes White Dragon card that was sitting in its box. He pushed past Yugi and Joey and stared at the card.

"Can it be? The Blue-eyes White Dragon? In a dump like this?" he asked.

Golden allowed her head to come out of the backpack and frowned, 'Watch what you say, or you'll have to answer to me!' she thought.

"Well, enough window shopping," Grandpa said as he quickly closed the box and pulled it close to him. "Now, is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked.

Kaiba gritted his teeth and slammed his briefcase onto the counter. He opened it and faced it toward Grandpa. "Listen to me old man, give me your Blue-eyes White Dragon and I'll trade you all of these." He said.

The briefcase's inside was filled to the brim with rare and powerful cards, many of which Golden had never seen before. Everyone gasped in unison at Kaiba's collection while Golden jumped from Yugi's backpack and onto the counter to get a better look.

"Ah, nice; but no thanks," Grandpa said simply.

"Huh?" Everyone asked in shock.

Golden was surprised Grandpa had passed up an offer this big, and just for one rare card! Kaiba frowned, "Fine, if you won't trade, then maybe you'll sell it. Name your price; I can pay anything you ask!" Kaiba said firmly.

"I'm sure you could, but this card is worth more to me than you could ever offer," Grandpa said, "Not because of its power, or because it's so rare but because of what it means to me. This card was given to me by a dear friend and so I treasure this as I do my friend. So parting with it is completely out of the question." He said.

Kaiba was speechless and he clenched his fists.

"You'd feel the same way even if it was a common card right Grandpa?" Yugi asked.

"Exactly," Grandpa answered, "You see, this precious card has bonded with my heart."

Golden smiled in understanding. She treated every Duel Monster card with care and respect as if they were actually living breathing creatures. They were much more than just pieces of cardboard that are used in a child's card game. Her Millennium Collar sparkled; she felt that the dragon card was also very close to Grandpa because he had treated it with such care. Kaiba slammed the briefcase shut, snapping Golden out of her trance.

"Fine! I've heard enough of your nonsense!" Kaiba said angrily. "Senile old fool," he muttered as he walked out the door to a car that was waiting for him.

"Who was that guy?" Golden asked as the car drove away.

"That was Seto Kaiba," Yugi answered. "He runs the company Kaiba Corp that makes lots of technological stuff,"

Golden stared at the doorway, "He's that young, yet he runs a huge business?" Golden asked.

Yugi nodded, "Yeah, but no one really knows how he did it." He said.

Golden frowned, "Well I don't like him, he's got some nerve coming in here like that," she scoffed.

"My thoughts exactly," Joey said.

The next day, Golden didn't stow away to school with Yugi again. Instead she took the time to walk around town. She knew the place like the back of her paw and none of it scared her anymore now that her life had changed for good. In the afternoon, Golden traveled to Yugi's school and met them just as they were walking out the front gate.

"Hey guys!" Golden called as she ran toward them.

"Hey Golden," Yugi said.

"Mind if I walk with you?" Golden asked.

Yugi shook his head, "We were just heading to Grandpa's game shop," he said.

"Yeah, I plan to get myself some rare cards!" Joey said excitedly. As they walked, they talked a lot about Duel Monsters. Tea looked down at Golden.

"Have you ever played Duel Monsters Golden?" Tea asked.

"Well, I've never actually played, but I know all the rules. I learned by basically watching people duel back when I was a stray." Golden explained.

"I bet Grandpa could set you up with your very own deck if you asked him," Yugi said.

Golden smiled at the idea, "Yeah! Then I could duel all of you guys!" she said. They eventually arrived at the Game shop.

"Gramps! I've come to get more cards!" Joey called as they opened the door. But Grandpa wasn't behind the counter.

"Hey! Hey Gramps!" Joey called again.

"Grandpa? I'm home!" Yugi called, but the shop was empty.

"Where could he be?" Golden wondered.

"Maybe he went out," Tea offered.

Joey shrugged, "Maybe, but why would he leave the door unlocked?" Joey wondered. Just then, the phone rang. Golden jumped up onto the counter near it while Yugi picked it up.

"Hello? Game shop." He said. Golden's ears perked up as she heard a familiar voice from the phone.

"Ah, Yugi," he said.

Yugi gasped, "Kaiba?" he asked.

"Your grandfather's here visiting but he's not feeling well, why don't you come by my office and pick him up?" Kaiba said smugly.

"Kaiba! What have you done Kaiba?" Yugi cried but he had already hung up the phone. Golden gasped and Yugi hung up the phone.

"Yug, what happened?" Joey asked.

"Kaiba kidnapped Grandpa!" Golden cried. Everyone gasped. "Then what are we standing here for? Let's go!" Tristan cried.

In no time at all they arrived at the Kaiba Corp building. They ran into an elevator that carried them up to the top floor. The door finally opened to reveal Grandpa lying on the ground.

"Grandpa!" Yugi and Golden cried as they ran toward him. Yugi knelt down in front of him,

"Grandpa, are you okay?" he asked.

Grandpa slowly lifted his head. "Yugi, Golden, I failed. I wanted to teach that boy Kaiba a lesson about the heart of the cards but I lost." He said sadly and laid his head on the ground again.

"Grandpa!" Yugi cried.

"Hang in there!" Golden cried.

"How's the old man feeling?" a voice asked. Kaiba was standing in the doorway. Golden let out a low growl as soon as she saw him.

"Kaiba! What've you done to him!" Joey demanded.

"We dueled that's all, with each of us putting up our most valuable card as the prize," he said. "But I guess playing against a champion like me was just too much stimulation for the old fool."

Tea pointed at Kaiba. "You should be ashamed of yourself!" she scoffed.

Kaiba didn't move, "It was fair, and look at the sweet prize I won." He said and held up Grandpa's Blue-eyes White Dragon. He then turned it sideways and his other hand went up to hold the card. Golden's collar began to glow faintly giving her a sense of alarm. Kaiba was going to tear that card in half!

She ran toward Kaiba and sunk her teeth into his leg. Kaiba cried out and dropped the card. Golden caught the card in her mouth as gently as she could. It had received a fairly large tear in its side, but the picture was still pretty much intact. She ran back to Yugi and dropped it in front of Grandpa. Golden glared angrily at Kaiba,

"I thought I recognized that motion, you were going to tear that card in half weren't you?" she said.

Everyone gasped in surprise and Kaiba smiled,

"Lucky guess for a mutt like you." He said. But Golden knew that what she said wasn't all true. She knew he was going to tear it up, not because of her instincts, but because the card had somehow told her. Through the collar, she could hear the card crying in pain and calling for help when it was in Kaiba's hand. It was saying that Kaiba didn't want it to be used against him so he planned to tear the card in half. The card was still in pain even now, but happy to be back with its owner.

Grandpa managed to pick up the card with much effort. "Thank you Golden." He said and groaned in pain again.

"Grandpa! Hold on!" Yugi cried.

Golden nodded, "Try not to move, we'll get you some help!" Golden said as tears of pain came to her eyes.

"How could you do such a thing?" Yugi demanded with tears in his eyes as well.

"Yugi, take this," Grandpa said weakly as he held up a deck of cards.

Yugi looked at Grandpa sadly, "Grandpa,"

Grandpa held the deck in front of Yugi and Golden. "I built this deck, I put my soul in these cards, and I taught you everything I know. Take them and show him respect. Teach Kaiba respect for the heart of the cards Yugi." Grandpa said weakly.

"But Grandpa, you're hurt! I've got to get you to a doctor!" Yugi protested. Golden nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like an excuse," Kaiba said as he stepped toward them. Golden got in front of Yugi and Grandpa and growled fiercely; she was not going to let Kaiba hurt her family anymore.

Kaiba smiled. "Your friends can care for your grandfather, while you and I duel,"

Yugi gritted his teeth to keep the tears back and Golden's growl grew louder.

"Unless you're afraid," Kaiba snickered.

"Take 'im Yugi!" Joey said.

Golden and Yugi turned to the others.

"We can take care of your grandpa while you and Golden take care of creepy Kaiba! Teach that brat what a real duel's all about!" he said.

Tea nodded, "For your grandpa Yugi!"

Yugi didn't look too sure, "I don't know,"

"Trust me," Joey said, "You're the best player I've ever seen, plus you've got the Millennium Puzzle and Golden's Millennium Collar! You can do this Yugi! I know you can!"

"We all do," Tea added.

Yugi and Golden looked at each other and nodded with determination. Yugi took the deck of cards from Grandpa's hand,

"Alright Grandpa, I'll do it." He said.

Grandpa smiled, "I know you will my boy."

Tea then held up a marker. "Everyone; put your hands together, and put your paw in too Golden, I'll mark us with a special sign,"

Everyone did what she said and Tea drew a smiley face on their hands and Golden's paw. Everyone sweat-dropped,

"What gives Tea?" Joey asked with odd look on his face.

Tea smiled, "It's a symbol of our friendship, so when Yugi's dueling, no matter how tough it gets he'll know that he's not alone and we're all right there with him,"

Everyone nodded. When an ambulance finally arrived, Tea, Joey and Tristan brought Grandpa down while Kaiba led Yugi and Golden to what looked like a large stadium.

"I designed this virtual stadium myself, impressive hmm?" Kaiba said as they took their places on either side of the field. He smiled, "I think you'll agree, it adds a bit more life to the game, we each start with 2000 life points, the first one to hit zero loses." Kaiba explained. "Are you ready to play runt?" Kaiba asked coldly.

"Playtime is over Kaiba!" Yugi said fiercely. Golden nodded and both Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and Golden's Millennium Collar began to glow brightly.

"Huh? What the..?" Kaiba said, bewildered at the items glow. Once the light faded Golden noticed that Yugi had changed; he was much taller now and looked more confident than the normal, innocent Yugi. Yugi noticed that Golden had changed also; she was now the size of a full-grown golden retriever, her tail was about a full two feet longer than it used to be and her gold fur was rich, thick, and wavy.

Yugi smiled at Kaiba, "Now Kaiba, prepare yourself because it's time to duel!" he said with confidence. His voice was now much deeper.

Golden smiled as well, "Let's take him down," she said, her voice now sounding like a woman instead of a young child. The duel had begun.

Kaiba pulled a card from his hand, "Then let's begin, I attack with the mighty Hitatsu-me Giant." He said as he placed a card on the board in front of him.

The panel on the field began to glow a green color.

"Brace yourself Yugi, you've never dueled like this before," Kaiba said as the giant monster on the card appeared on the field in front of Kaiba.

"He's brought the monster on the card to life!" Yugi exclaimed.

"But how?" Golden wondered.

"It's my virtual simulator," Kaiba answered. "It creates life-like holograms of every Duel Monster." He explained.

Yugi gritted his teeth, "So this is how you beat my grandfather," Yugi said.

Golden nodded, "He gave himself the advantage by using a duel system he created so he could overwhelm his opponent; only a coward would do something like this to win a duel!" Golden scoffed.

Yugi picked a card from his hand, "Now, it's my turn! I call on the Winged Dragon! Guardian of the Fortress!" he said and placed the card down.

The dragon appeared on the field facing Kaiba's giant. Golden's collar glowed faintly; another monster that was deeply cared for by Grandpa. Golden's collar told her that all the cards in that deck were powerful and very loyal to their master.

At that moment, Joey entered the stadium but he flinched when he saw the giant holographic monsters on the field. "Monsters? Real monsters?" he cried.

Kaiba's Giant lunged toward the Winged Dragon.

"Fireball Attack!" Yugi commanded. The dragon shot a large fireball from its mouth and it slammed into the Giant with a large explosion as it disappeared to the card graveyard. Kaiba's life points dropped to 1800.

"Big brother! Are you alright?" a voice cried out. Golden looked down to see a young boy with long black hair run toward Kaiba.

'So Kaiba has a brother,' Golden thought.

"Alright! Go Yugi!" Joey cheered.

Kaiba drew another card and smiled. "Well played Yugi, for a beginner," he said. "But how will you deal with this?" and he placed another card on the field.

Both Yugi and Golden both looked confused. "Saggi the Dark Clown? But that card has hardly any attack strength." Yugi said.

"Be on your guard Yugi, he may be planning something," Golden warned.

Kaiba smiled, "You're pretty smart for a mutt; it's true my Dark Clown only has 600 attack points," Kaiba put another card down, "But if I combine it with this card,"

Yugi gasped, "A magic card!" he exclaimed.

Golden nodded, "I thought so,"

"Exactly," Kaiba said, "The Negative Energy Generator, it multiplies my monsters attack by three." The Dark Clown grew larger as its attack points rose to 1800. Kaiba smiled evilly,

"Dark Clown! Attack with Dark Light!" he ordered. The monster formed a black orb between his hands and shot it at the Winged Dragon. The attack hit the dragon and it disappeared causing Yugi's attack points to drop to 1600.

"As you can see, combining cards can be very effective," Kaiba said. Yugi gritted his teeth. Golden watched as Yugi drew another card from his deck revealing it to be a leg with only 200 attack points. Yugi then put another card face-down in defense mode.

"Dark Light attack!" Kaiba yelled. The clown easily destroyed the monster. Yugi played a few more cards in defense mode, but the Dark Clown kept destroying them and Yugi still hadn't drawn a card that was stronger.

Joey pounded his fists on the railing. "Hang in there Yugi!" he said.

"You're not fairing any better than the old man did Yugi," Kaiba taunted. "Your deck is just as weak and feeble as your grandfather."

Golden growled softly; she couldn't stand what she was hearing from Kaiba's deck. They were all just as twisted and dark as Kaiba, yelling insults and taunting their opponents while boasting of their amazing power. They were poisoned; suffering from the darkness in Kaiba's heart.

"Disgusting," Golden muttered.

"My grandpa is a great man and a better duelist than you'll ever be!" Yugi shot back. "He entrusted me with his cards and I can feel his heart in his deck, I doubt you have that kind of faith in your cards Kaiba!"

Kaiba frowned.

"But I believe in my grandpa's deck!" Yugi said and he drew his next card. He and Golden looked at it and smiled. "And my faith rewards me with Gaia the Fierce Knight, with a destructive power of 2300!" Yugi yelled.

The monster appeared on the field while Kaiba flinched. Gaia's horse ran toward the Dark Clown and the knight ran him through with his joust, destroying the monster and decreasing Kaiba's life points to 1300.

"Wait to go Yugi!" Joey cheered.

Yugi stood proudly. "Alright Kaiba, your move,"

"This will be over sooner than you think," Kaiba said as he drew his next card. "I call on the Blue-eyes White Dragon!"

The giant dragon let out a roar and appeared on the field.

"No way!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Impossible! Golden snatched that card from Kaiba!" Joey exclaimed. But Golden was hardly surprised; she thought she heard a familiar voice in Kaiba's deck. But this dragon wasn't the kind and caring dragon that Grandpa had.

"That's not Grandpa's card," Golden said.

"Surprised? Did you think your grandfather was the only one to possess a Blue-eyes White Dragon?" Kaiba sneered.

The dragon shot a beam of electricity, destroying Gaia and dropping Yugi's life points to 900.

"Faith or no faith, you will fall before my superior monsters Yugi." Kaiba said. "Power is what this game is all about; faith is for losers like your pathetic grandfather, in your entire deck there isn't a single monster that can stand up to a Blue-eyes White Dragon," Kaiba held up another card, "So what hope do you have against two?"another large dragon appeared next to the first one. "Why don't you just admit defeat Yugi?" Kaiba said.

Golden felt Yugi's spirit quiver, he was starting to lose confidence. She had to boost his spirit or this duel would be over. Golden put her front paws on top of the dueling platform so she could see Kaiba clearly.

"That's enough out of you! This duel isn't over yet, and soon you'll learn that there's more to winning a duel than just a monsters' strength!"

Golden stepped down and looked up at Yugi. "Don't give up this fight yet Yugi, we can still turn this battle around; every duel monster can be destroyed somehow, we just need to find its weakness," Yugi stared into Golden's black eyes; they were shimmering with bravery and determination. "Just believe in your deck and in yourself, you can defeat him; I believe in you." Golden said smiling.

Yugi smiled back and nodded. He faced Kaiba, "I won't give up, Grandpa's counting on both of us." He said and he drew a card.

Golden saw the card and nodded; this duel wasn't over by a long shot.

"Swords of Revealing Light! It stops all monsters on the field for three turns!" Yugi said as the large shining swords fell all around the two dragons.

"How desperate," Kaiba scoffed, "What good could a three turn delay possibly do you?"

Yugi looked at the cards in his hands. All his cards were pretty much useless, there were too many pieces. Golden then remembered that Grandpa said that some cards were like pieces to a puzzle. Golden remembered when she was a stray; she heard about an unstoppable duel monster that could only be summoned by drawing five special cards. Golden looked at the three cards in Yugi's hand; an arm, and two legs, all that was really missing was another arm and a head.

Golden's ears perked as the answer came to her. They could still win this duel, and Yugi's Swords of Revealing Light was the only time they had to solve the puzzle. Golden looked up at Yugi who looked down at her. They both nodded; they knew what they had to do.

"Quit your stalling Yugi, or you will forfeit the match!" Kaiba yelled.

"I never forfeit!" Yugi yelled back as he drew a card from his deck. To their delight, it was another arm.

"Draw any card you like, it won't change a thing," Kaiba said. "My two dragons may be frozen for three more turns, but my new monster is under no such spell," he placed another card on the field. "My Judge Man with an attack power of 2200." He said as the monster destroyed Yugi's defending monster.

Yugi drew another card, and to Golden's surprise, it was the Dark Magician. That card was pretty rare, and it could easily take out the Judge Man monster. Yugi called it to the field.

"Dark Magician! Attack!" Yugi yelled. The magician held up his hand and the Judge Man shattered, causing Kaiba's life points to drop to 1000.

Kaiba smiled. "A sacrifice that doesn't even faze me," he drew another card. "Though either dragon can't move for one more turn, my next card is the third Blue-eyes White Dragon!" the third and final dragon appeared in front of the first two. "Now my dragon! Attack!" Kaiba yelled.

The dragon shot the beam of electricity and easily destroyed the Dark Magician. Yugi's life points were now at 400.

"So tell me Yugi, how's your faith now?" Kaiba asked. "On my next turn, all three Blue-eyes White Dragons are free to attack, this game's over no matter what card you draw!" he said evilly.

Now both Golden and Yugi were nervous; this next card would decide the whole match. Yugi's hand reached for the deck but he stopped, unsure about drawing.

'No! He doubts the deck and himself!'Golden thought frantically.

'Don't lose focus Golden; stay calm!' A strong female voice told her. Golden took a deep breath and looked at Yugi. He was looking at the friendship symbol on his hand. Golden looked at the symbol on her paw and she could see Joey, Tea and Tristan. They were all there with them.

"Yugi, Golden, we're right here with you," Tea said.

"You've got to believe in yourself," Tristan said.

"You can do it, just kick Kaiba's butt." Joey said.

Golden looked at Yugi, "They're right Yugi, as long as we're here, you can't lose." She said.

Yugi nodded. "Yes, I've got to believe in the cards like my friends believe in me." He said. Golden nodded.

"Draw your last pathetic card so I can end this Yugi," Kaiba said.

"My Grandpa's deck has no pathetic cards Kaiba," Yugi said. "But it does contain, the unstoppable Exodia!" Yugi said as he held up the final card; the head of Exodia.

"Ahhhhh! Impossible!" Kaiba cried.

"I've assembled all five special card, all five pieces of the puzzle!" Yugi said as a large symbol appeared on the field; and from it, emerged Exodia.

Kaiba stepped back in fear, "Exodia! It's not possible! No one's ever been able to call him!" he exclaimed.

"Exodia! Obliterate!" Yugi yelled.

The giant monster shot a large energy blast from its hand. Kaiba screamed as the blast enveloped and destroyed all three Blue-eyes White Dragons and dropped his life points to 0. The duel was over.

"You did it! You won Yugi!" Joey called.

"This can't be! My brother never loses!" Kaiba's brother cried.

Yugi smiled. "You play only for power Kaiba, and that is why you lost, but if you put your heart in the game there is nothing you can't do." He said.

Kaiba looked devastated as he stared at the ground, "But how? How could I have lost to him?" he wondered.

"Kaiba, if you really want to know then open your mind!" Yugi yelled.

A golden eye appeared on his forehead and he pointed his hand at Kaiba. Kaiba cried out and fell to his knees. Golden's collar could sense no more darkness in him or his deck.

"There Kaiba, maybe now you will begin to see," Yugi said.

Golden nodded, "Hopefully your cards will no longer suffer at your hands," she said.

Yugi's puzzle and Golden's collar glowed brightly, and they were back to normal. Yugi put Grandpa's deck in his pocket, and turned to Golden.

"Thank you Golden," he said.

Golden looked up at Yugi,

"Without your determination, I don't think I would've won; thanks for keeping me strong." He said.

Golden smiled, "It was the least I could do."


	3. The Gauntlet is Thrown

Chapter 3

Golden peeked out of Yugi's backpack that was hanging on the back of his chair. Once again, she had stowed away to school with him. She really wanted to show Yugi and his friends something she had made with Grandpa, but she was so excited, she had to jump into his backpack, she just couldn't resist. She also really wanted to see another card game. It had been a few weeks since their duel with Kaiba, and Golden was eager for some more Duel Monster action.

The gang was in the middle of another game of Duel Monsters and Joey was dueling Tea.

"Joey, make your move already," Tristan said.

Joey picked a card from his hand and looked at it, "'Kay, here ya go tough guy," he said as he put it on the desk. "My Rock Ogre's gonna rock your block off!"

Golden frowned; another weak monster, she could tell Joey was going to get creamed again. Tea responded by playing the monster Happy Lover in defense mode.

'Good strategy,' Golden said to herself; Joey's monster had the same number of attack points, so if Happy Lover was destroyed she wouldn't lose any life points either way.

Joey chuckled, "Yeah Tea, like that wimpy card has a chance against my giant rock guy, give it up!" he said confidently, and smiled.

Tea picked a card from her hand, "Guess I don't stand a chance; unless I play the Breath of Light card." She said and placed it on the desk.

Golden and Joey's eyes widened at the card. "Can she do that?" Joey asked.

Yugi smiled, "Oh yeah, the Breath of Light wears down rock monsters; reduces them to rubble!"

Joey stared at Tea with a devastated look on his face and Tea smiled. "That brings your life points down to zero Joey, once again you lose and I rock!" she said with triumph.

"You STINK at this game," Tristan told Joey who slammed his head down on the desk. Golden giggled and jumped out of Yugi's backpack and onto Yugi's head.

"Another great win Tea!" she said happily and wagging her tail.

"Golden!" everyone exclaimed.

Golden raised her paw, "Hey guys!" she said.

Yugi reached up and lifted her off his head. He held the small pup in front of him.

"I thought I told you, you couldn't come to school with me," he said frowning.

Golden moaned, "I can't help it! I go crazy knowing you guys are playing Duel Monsters 24-7 when I've never even played!" she protested, "Also, I wanted to show you guys something. I was too excited to wait for you to come home,"

She went over to Yugi's backpack and dug around a bit, "It took me over a week to build, even with Grandpa's help," she said.

"Here it is!" she exclaimed as her tail wrapped around an object and lifted it towards them. Wrapped in her tail was a Duel Monsters deck!

"So you have your very own deck now?" Yugi asked.

Golden nodded, "Now I'll be able to duel for real someday!" she said excitedly.

"Can I take a look?" Yugi asked holding out his hand.

Golden nodded, "Sure," and she handed him her deck.

Yugi went through her cards and his eyes widened; Golden sure knew what she was doing with the magic and trap cards she picked. Most of her monsters were beast monsters, but overall, her deck was balanced and could be quite deadly if used right.

"What do you think?" Golden asked.

Yugi handed her deck back to her, "I think you picked some really good cards," he said smiling.

Golden wagged her tail, "Really?" she asked. Yugi nodded.

When the school day finally ended, Yugi hung out with Joey in the school yard. Of course, Golden tagged along too. She sat next to Yugi on top of a bar while Joey leaned on the one next to it.

"Tristan's right Yugi, I DO stink," Joey was saying, "I can't win at Duel Monsters to save my life," Joey looked at Yugi, "What is it Yugi? Why can't I ever win? Teach what I'm doin' wrong," he said.

Yugi jumped off the bar, "Well, let's start by checking your deck Joey," he said.

"'Kay," Joey answered and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his deck and handed it to Yugi,

"Thanks," Yugi said and he let out a small grunt as Golden jumped from the bar to his shoulder,

"I wanna' see," she said looking at the cards.

"Powerhouse lineup, don't you think?" Joey asked as Yugi went through his cards. Yugi and Golden's expressions were almost alike as they went through the deck. Their eyes widened, and then turned to a frown. Monster, monsters, and more monsters, no magic or trap cards at all.

"No one could win these," Yugi said frowning.

Golden nodded, "You can say that again," she said.

"Your deck is filled with nothing but monster cards," Yugi said, but Joey smiled,

"You got it; I packed it with every butt-kicking monster I could find," he said proudly.

"No wonder you keep losing; not only is your deck bad, you don't even get the whole concept of the game," Golden said frowning.

Yugi nodded, "She's right Joey, that isn't how the game works,"

"Huh?" Joey asked.

"Duel Monsters is all about combining your monster cards with your magic cards to increase their strength, with no magic in your deck your monsters will get creamed every time." Yugi explained.

Joey went up to Yugi and grabbed him by the shoulders,

"See? That's the kind of stuff I need to know! Yugi, you gotta help me learn more!" he said urgently.

Later that day, Yugi, Joey and Golden walked toward Grandpa's game shop.

"My Grandpa's the real game expert of the family, maybe he can help," Yugi said.

Golden shrugged, "It's worth a try," she said.

She had only lived with the Muto family for a few weeks and she already knew how stubborn Grandpa could be. They walked in to find Grandpa hanging up a Duel Monsters poster.

"Hey Grandpa! I brought you a new student!" Yugi called.

Grandpa turned to them, "Huh? Student?" he asked.

"I was hoping since you know more about Duel Monsters than anyone, maybe you'd teach me," Joey said as Grandpa climbed down from the ladder.

"Teach you?" Grandpa asked, "Duel Monsters is a very complex game,"

Joey nodded, "Yeah tell me about it, Tea beat me three games in a row,"

"Actually, Tea beat you five times in a row," Yugi corrected.

"Yup, yup!" Golden said nodding.

"Five? Aw man!" Joey cried.

Grandpa nodded, "Yes, I could teach you to be a great tournament duelist," Grandpa faced Joey, "But only if you're willing to spend endless days and sleepless nights filled with rigorous training!"

Joey looked a little nervous, "Piece of cake!" he said smiling.

Grandpa glared at him; "With an attitude like that, teaching you may not be worth my effort!" he said firmly.

"Nice going smart mouth!" Yugi scoffed.

Golden frowned, "Nice smooth talking," she said sarcastically.

Joey got down on his knees and bowed his head to Yugi, "Please Yugi, help me convince him! I WILL work hard I promise!" he pleaded.

"Listen Joey, teaching you Duel Monsters is too big a challenge even for my grandpa," Yugi said sadly.

Grandpa frowned, "It's not impossible," he said slowly.

Joey looked at Grandpa, "You mean it Gramps?" he asked.

"Joey he already said he can't do it; and if he can't do it, he can't do it," Yugi said.

"I never said I couldn't do it," Grandpa said, "But if I agree you must work hard!"

Joey flinched, "I'll do anything! I promise, I promise!" he said.

Grandpa stood tall, "Fine, then we'll begin your instruction immediately my young friend, and believe me," he cracked his knuckles, "under my training you will learn."

Golden lowered her head, "This could get ugly," she said quietly,

Yugi nodded, "No kidding,"

"Now, can you name the most powerful Duel Monster?" Grandpa asked.

"No," Joey answered after a few seconds.

"Can you name the weakest?" Grandpa asked.

"Nooo," Joey answered again.

"You do know what a Trap Card is, don't you?" Grandpa asked.

"Kinda'….I have no idea," Joey answered weakly.

"It'll be a miracle if we're in the same time period when this is over," Golden snickered. Yugi laughed quietly.

"I heard that!" Joey said angrily.

Weeks later, Joey's training seemed to finally be getting him somewhere. The five friends sat in Yugi's living room watching the regional Duel monsters tournament on T.V. They were down to the final two duelists; Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor, who were facing off in the finals.

"Bug Boy versus Dinosaur Breath? What kind of match is that? That should've been me in there!" Joey complained.

"I know you've been training for weeks," Tea said, "but those guys are in another league, you're just not ready yet."

Joey crossed his arms, "Sure, rub it in!" he scoffed.

"And on top of that, you're so tired you can hardly keep your eyes open," Yugi pointed out.

Joey nodded slightly and began to snore. "I think Grandpa's lessons have been a bit too tough for him," Yugi said.

"You think?" Golden asked, "The poor guy's having Duel Monster knowledge shoved down his throat!"

Tristan leaned toward Joey, "I guess it's true what they say, YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE!" he yelled causing Joey to open his eyes and Golden giggled.

Joey hung his head and sighed, "I must've been nuts to ever think I could learn this crazy game,"

Grandpa entered the room carrying a package. "Time for your lesson!" He announced.

Joey whirled around, "What? We're not done?" he asked.

"Not by a long shot you slacker!" Grandpa said firmly and Joey groaned in frustration.

Grandpa smiled, "Now quit your whining Joseph, I know you've been working long and hard, but you really are coming along as a duelist and I'm quite proud of you."

Joey's eyes filled with tears, "Gramps, thank you," he reached out to hug him but he walked toward Yugi at the last second causing Joey to fall off the couch.

"By the way Yugi, this package came for you," Grandpa said showing the package to Yugi.

"What is it Gramps?" Yugi asked.

Grandpa shrugged, "I don't know, it just came in the mail."

Yugi took the package and examined it. Golden sniffed it; she smelled a faint aroma that comes from Duel Monster cards.

"It's from Industrial Illusions," Yugi said reading the return address.

Joey climbed back onto the couch, "Industrial Illusions? That's the company that makes the Duel Monsters game. Why the heck would they send a package to you?" Joey asked.

Yugi frowned, "I have no idea, is it possible they heard I beat the world champion?"

"You mean Kaiba?" Tea asked.

Yugi nodded, "It wasn't an official match or anything, but Kaiba did drop out of the tournament because of me." He said.

"Well, after Exodia came onto the field, he looked pretty shaken." Golden said as she remembered their intense duel against Kaiba.

"Just hearing Kaiba's name gives me a headache," Joey said putting his hand on his forehead.

"Whoa! Raptor just stomped Weevil!" Tristan exclaimed.

Everyone turned to the T.V. screen to watch the outcome of the duel. "Yugi, are these guys any good?" Joey asked.

"Oh yeah, they're both pretty tough customers; Weevil specializes in Insect cards and he's a great strategist. Then you've got Rex Raptor and his Dinosaur cards, he uses their power to overwhelm his opponents." Yugi explained.

Joey smiled, "Itsy-bitsy bugs against dueling dinosaurs, Raptor has got this one in the bag,"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Yugi said.

They watched as Rex summoned his Two-Headed King Rex, and Weevil responded by playing a Basic Insect card.

"He plays a wimpy bug against a giant dinosaur? The place will be covered in bug guts!" Joey said.

"Maybe, But I wouldn't underestimate Weevil," Yugi said.

Golden nodded, "It's actually a pretty obvious move,"

"How so Goldie?" Joey asked.

"Well, when a duelist throws a weak monster with less than 1000 attack points against a stronger one with 1500 attack points or more, they must have something up their sleeve. Weevil could be trying to lure Rex into attacking him so his King Rex will trigger a trap that could immediately destroy it, stun it, or weaken its attack. Or he could be planning to play a magic card that will increase his Basic Insect's strength. Anything could happen." Golden explained.

"Looks like Weevil isn't the only duelist who's a great strategist," Yugi said looking at Golden.

Golden blushed slightly. Rex ordered his King Rex to attack, but it was stopped in its tracks by Weevil's Vortex trap card. Weevil then used a magic card to give his Basic Insect armor and laser cannon. The Basic Insect easily overpowered King Rex and the duel was over.

"Man, King Rex squashed by an insect?" Joey asked in shock.

"I told you, anything can happen when you're playing Duel Monsters." Golden said.

Weevil smiled as he was lowered from the playing field. He held up his deck in triumph. Golden's collar glowed faintly. She flinched as she heard the voices of all the cards in Weevils deck. They weren't dark or suffering, in fact they were quite well cared for; but boy were they loud! They were loudly boasting about how great they all were together and how great their master was. Golden crouched down and put her paws over her ears, trying to drown out the annoying buzz all the voices were creating.

"Could you turn that down a bit?" Golden asked.

Everyone looked at Golden, confused. The sound wasn't all that loud.

"Is it too loud for you?" Yugi asked.

"No, Weevil's cards just won't shut up!" she exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Tea asked.

The sound from Weevil's deck finally died down as the creator of Duel Monsters himself, Maximilian Pegasus presented Weevil with the regional championship trophy.

"I forgot to tell you before, it's one of the powers of my Millennium Collar." She said.

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked.

Golden put one of her paws on her collar around her neck, "My collar is what gives me the ability to talk, but it also lets me hear the voices of every Duel Monster card."

Everyone gasped.

"Really?" Joey asked.

Golden nodded, "This collar was why I was able to get Grandpa's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card before Kaiba tore it up, it was crying for help and it told me Kaiba's plan to tear it up so it wouldn't be used against him." Golden explained.

"Your collar can do all that?" Yugi asked in surprise.

Golden nodded, "Yeah, ever since I inherited it I've discovered that it can do a lot of things,"

Yugi blinked, "Inherited? That must mean you did have a family before you met me!"

Golden's eyes widened with shock, 'Aw man! I shouldn't have said I inherited it!' she thought frantically.

"Uh, y-yeah, I had a family once, but that's ancient history now," she said nervously.

"Okay," Yugi said with an unsure tone in his voice. Golden felt immense relief when Grandpa suggested that Yugi open his package. It was true, she did have a family once; but unfortunate turns of events caused her to become an orphan, and it was her fault they were gone. But she put it behind her. She had Yugi now, and all his friends; she didn't have any need to worry about being alone. She joined he others around the package as Yugi opened it.

"What could it be?" Yugi wondered.

He opened the box revealing a red glove, two tiny plastic stars and a videotape packed inside. Everyone seemed pretty confused by the contents of the box.

"Maybe there's an explanation on the video," Tristan suggested.

"Pop it in and check it out," Joey said.

Yugi nodded, took it out and put the tape in the VCR. The screen was fuzzy for a moment before the face of Maximilian Pegasus appeared on the screen.

"Greetings, little Yugi; I am Maximilian Pegasus," he said.

"Pegasus?" Joey asked.

"We just saw him on T.V.!" Tea exclaimed.

"The famous Maximilian Pegasus sends greetings to my Yugi?" Grandpa asked.

"I have heard some terribly interesting things about you and your little friend Golden, Yugi," Pegasus said.

Yugi and Golden's eyes widened; they both knew what he was talking about.

"Your present defeat of Seto Kaiba intrigued me so much, I've decided to investigate your amazing dueling skills personally," Pegasus continued. "Right here, right now, we shall hold a special duel. We'll play with a strict time limit of fifteen minutes, and when time's up the player with the most life points wins." He explained.

"Huh?" Yugi asked.

Golden frowned, "I'm confused now," she said.

"Are you ready?" Pegasus asked.

"He can't seriously expect you to fight a duel against a videotape!" Joey said.

"That's crazy!" Tristan agreed.

Pegasus laughed softly and strange energy waves came from the screen. Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Grandpa all froze and turned cold as the living room disappeared and became shrouded with darkness. Yugi and Golden on the other hand seemed unaffected.

"What's happening?" Golden cried.

"What have you done? Where have you taken us?" Yugi demanded.

Pegasus laughed again, "We're no longer in the world you know; but I will return you both after our game."

Both Yugi and Golden faced Pegasus with determination.

"Then, it's time to duel!" Yugi said.

Golden nodded and both their Millennium items began to glow. Once again, a more confident Yugi and Golden had taken the places of the originals, and they were ready to fight.

"Start the clock and make your move Pegasus." Yugi said.

Pegasus smiled, "Certainly, then let's begin," and the timer on the VCR began the countdown.

Pegasus placed a card face down on the game board, "Nervous Yugi-boy? You should be, you have never faced a duelist like me before,"

Yugi drew a card, "You may be good, but I will beat you to save my friends," he said confidently holding his card up.

Golden looked and saw it was a Komori Dragon; a good start. Pegasus's left eye glowed from behind his long white hair,

"You won't save anyone with that dragon card," he said.

Yugi and Golden's eyes widened with shock, "How...?" Yugi wondered.

"How could you possibly have known that?" Golden asked.

"I told you, you've never faced anyone like me before; I know every move you'll make, before you even make it!" Pegasus said. "Knowing every move you'll make gives me a distinct advantage, wouldn't you say?"

"What?" Yugi asked.

"For example, I can anticipate your next play and counter it with this Dragon Capture Jar." Pegasus explained.

A bright light came from the card, causing both Golden and Yugi to shield their eyes.

"It will draw the Komori Dragon from your hand and capture the beast!" Pegasus said as the dragon appeared on the field for a second before being imprisoned in the jar.

Now it couldn't be played against him for the rest of the duel. Yugi gritted his teeth and tensed up.

"Don't let him intimidate you Yugi, you have to remain calm and focus," Golden said.

She couldn't blame him for being nervous. This guy somehow managed to read Yugi's mind and then bring the cards to life. They weren't dealing with an ordinary duelist here.

"This dark dimension we're in is called the Shadow Realm, a mystical place where incredible monsters can be summoned and the impossible is quite possible," Pegasus said.

"But what you're telling me can't be true!" Yugi said.

"Tell me Yugi, do you believe there's magic in these cards?" Pegasus asked.

"Don't you know? You invented this game," Yugi said as he picked his next card.

"What if I told you I didn't?" Pegasus asked.

"What?" Golden and Yugi asked in unison.

"In ancient times, the Egyptians called this the Shadow Game. Powerful pharaohs would hold mystical duels in other dimensions just as we are doing now, but not with cards. They battled with real monsters and real magic, magical forces so powerful the Egyptians lost control of them and nearly destroyed the world," Pegasus explained.

Golden understood, it explained why her collar let her hear the voices of the cards. If what Pegasus said is true, then those monsters must be real.

"It's a good story Pegasus, but these monsters can't be real," Yugi said.

Golden frowned, "I wouldn't become too ignorant about this if I were you Yugi, what he's saying does make sense,"

Yugi looked at Golden, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"How else would I be able to hear the voices of the cards? There must be some kind of magic in them to give them voices and hearts; you of all people should know that," Golden answered.

Pegasus smiled, "Your furry friend is right Yugi, try telling that last remark you made to my Dragon Piper, as his flute resurrection frees your Komori Dragon, but puts him under my control!"

The Piper played his song on the flute and the Komori dragon appeared on the field, ready to attack.

"I have to counter attack! Silver Fang!" Yugi yelled as he placed another card on the board. The large grey wolf sprang to life and jumped toward the Komori dragon. Flames erupted from the dragon's mouth, enveloping Silver Fang. A large flame got past Silver Fang as it disappeared to the graveyard and headed straight toward Yugi.

"Look out!" Golden cried, and she tackled him to the ground so that they were both out of harm's way. The intense heat was almost unbearable; these flames weren't holograms at all, they were real! The heat finally died down and Yugi's life points dropped to 1500.

"As you can see Yugi, these monsters are very real!" Pegasus said laughing, "And also quite dangerous," he added.

"Thank you Golden," Yugi said as they got off the ground.

Golden nodded "No problem,"

Pegasus's laughter finally died down, "Ah Yugi-boy, you both really are quite entertaining, the way you both scowl and sneer; so defiant and yet helpless, and completely ignorant about the powers of your Millennium items!" Pegasus said.

Yugi and Golden's eyes widened with confusion.

"Five thousand years ago, a powerful pharaoh locked the magic of the Shadow Games away," Pegasus said.

"What's this have to do with us?" Yugi asked.

"The pharaoh captured these vast, magical energies in eight mystical Millennium items," Pegasus answered.

"Eight items? You're saying that my puzzle and Golden's collar are two of these items?" Yugi asked.

"Yes and there are mystical energies locked within them, magic that could change your life forever if you only knew how to unleash it," Pegasus said.

"But why are you telling us all this?" Golden asked.

"Why? Simply because I need you to know," Pegasus answered, and he placed a card face down on the field, "But perhaps I've said too much, and since the clock is still ticking I propose we resume playing out little duel."

Yugi gritted his teeth and Golden's pulse sped up. They only had so much time before the duel was over. Golden watched as Pegasus lifted his long white hair to reveal a golden eye that shimmered. Yugi looked at his hand and picked the card Zombie Warrior. Pegasus smiled, he knew he was about to play it!

Golden's collar glowed faintly, 'No Yugi, don't play that card! He already knows what you're about to do!" Golden thought frantically.

Yugi's eyes widened as his puzzle began to glow also and he looked at Golden. Golden then heard Yugi's thoughts come into her mind.

'Was that you Golden?' Golden heard him ask in her head.

Golden let out a small gasp, 'You can hear my thoughts!' she exclaimed through her mind.

'But how?' Yugi asked.

'I bet it's our Millennium items! They must share a connection with each other!' Golden said.

Yugi nodded in understanding.

'You'll have to make a different move Yugi, Pegasus already knows you plan to play the Zombie Warrior,' Golden said.

'I know, but how?' Yugi asked.

Golden frowned, 'I bet it has something to do with that freaky eye he has, and it must let him see the cards you're holding so he's always ahead of you.' Golden answered.

Yugi smiled, 'That gives me an idea,'

Golden looked at Yugi, 'What is it?' she asked.

"Hurry up now Yugi-boy, time is running out for you and your friends." Pegasus said.

'If Pegasus is expecting me to play a card from my hand, what if I play card even I haven't seen yet?' Yugi thought as he picked a card from his deck and immediately placed it face down on the field without seeing what it was.

Golden smiled in understanding. 'Good idea! He can't find out what you don't know!' she thought.

"I already know you plan to play the Zombie Warrior, and I'm already prepared to counter it with a trap card that makes even zombies lie down and play dead," Pegasus said confidently as he placed a card on the field.

Yugi and Golden smiled, Yugi's plan had worked!

"Not this time, I've figured out your little game Pegasus," Yugi said, "You may be able to see the cards in my hand, but you can't see the cards in my deck!"

Pegasus frowned.

Yugi flipped the card over, "My next card is the Dark Magician!" Yugi said.

Golden nodded, this duel wasn't over yet!

"Oooh! A big scary Dark Magician!" Pegasus said with sarcasm.

"Mock me all you like Pegasus, but my Dark Magician will destroy that dragon!" Yugi said.

"Go right ahead if you think it will help," Pegasus said calmly.

Yugi smiled, "It will do more than help Pegasus, it will bring you closer to defeat and me closer to saving my friends," Yugi said.

Pegasus smiled, "If it can do all that, by all means, play it." He said.

"Dark Magician!" Yugi called and the spell caster appeared on the field. "Dark Magic Attack!" Yugi cried.

The magician held up his hand as the magical energy flowed from his hand. The Komori Dragon shattered and Pegasus's life points dropped to 1200.

Pegasus laughed, "Nicely played, but by using your Dark Magician, you've let me manipulate you once again."

Yugi and Golden gasped.

"By playing that one card you have ensured my victory," Pegasus said smiling.

"No." Yugi said and Golden growled softly.

"We shall see Yugi," Pegasus said as he drew his next card. "Oh! A very rare card!" he exclaimed. He revealed it to Yugi and Golden, "This is the fearsome Faceless Mage,"

Yugi and Golden's eyes widened at the odd card. "I've never seen that card before," Yugi said.

"Neither have I," Golden said.

Yugi frowned, "It doesn't matter, my Dark Magician is one of the strongest monster cards in the game," Yugi said.

"But how will he fare when I combine my Faceless Mage with the equally rare Eye of Illusion?" Pegasus asked as the two cards combined.

The Mage flew toward the Dark Magician. "Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" Yugi yelled.

The magician sent the magic energy toward the Mage who held up its hands where the Eye of Illusion appeared. The eye released a powerful energy surge as the attack collided with it.

"Dark Magician!" Yugi called. The smoke cleared to reveal both monsters, unharmed. The Dark magic Attack had no effect at all.

"His Faceless Mage should've been destroyed," Yugi said.

"Yes, but we're running out of time Yugi!" Golden said.

They had less than five minutes to turn this duel around. They had to find a way to beat him, and fast! Yugi drew another card and placed it on the field.

"I attack your combo with the Celtic Guardian! This mighty warrior will cut your Faceless Mage down to size!" Yugi said as the monster appeared on the field.

"True, your Guardian is mighty; but you have once again underestimated the incredible power of my Eye of Illusion!" Pegasus said laughing.

"No!" Yugi and Golden cried.

"Dark Magic Attack!" Pegasus commanded. An orb of dark energy hit the Celtic Guardian and destroyed it.

"But that's impossible!" Yugi said as his life points dropped to 500. "The Faceless Mage doesn't have a Dark Magic Attack!"

Yugi and Golden were stunned as the Dark Magician appeared behind the Faceless Mage with a golden eye on its front. The attack had come from Yugi's own monster!

Pegasus placed a card face down on the field. "Well Yugi, our time together is nearly up, and as I've more life points than you it appears I am the victor,"

Golden glanced down at the timer; it was beginning to count down from ten seconds.

"Time's not up just yet Pegasus, and you've left your Faceless Mage vulnerable to a physical assault!" Yugi said as he held up the card Summoned Skull. "Summoned Skull! Attack!" Yugi yelled as he placed the card down.

Golden glanced at the clock and counted down. 3…..2…..1….Time's up! Golden looked up just in time to see the monsters vanish just as they were about to clash. The duel was over and they had lost.

"Well we've run out of time, but how close was that? If had been able to complete that attack I would've lost, but I didn't, did I?" Pegasus said, "I have taken the measure of your talents this day Yugi Muto, and when next we duel we shall play for far higher stakes." Pegasus said.

"We're done with your games," Yugi said frowning.

Golden nodded in agreement.

Pegasus wagged his finger, "You presume I'm giving you a choice in the matter, but I'm not," he lifted his bangs to reveal his golden eye, "For I too posses one of the eight Millennium items, the all powerful Millennium eye!"

Golden and Yugi stared at the item, "A Millennium eye?" Yugi asked.

"I thought something about that eye was strange," Golden said.

"Yes," Pegasus said, "And now I'll show you the true extent of its magic!"

A bright beam of light emerged from the screen and enveloped Grandpa. The light then flew back into the T.V. screen.

"You see, I have found that given the proper incentive, anyone can be made to play my game," Pegasus said.

Yugi and Golden looked at the screen, and to their horror, Grandpa was trapped in the screen. Golden and Yugi returned to their normal selves.

Yugi grabbed the screen, "Grandpa!" he cried.

The darkness in the room disappeared and everyone returned to normal, but Grandpa collapsed to the floor.

"Yes, we will duel again Yugi; how else can you save your grandfather's soul?" Pegasus asked.

He laughed evilly and the screen became fuzzy.

"NO!" Golden cried.

Yugi continued to call Grandpa's name before he finally got up and ran to his room.

"What happened?" Tea asked when everything had calmed down. Golden explained the whole scenario between Yugi and Pegasus and how Grandpa's soul had been taken. Everyone was silent when Golden finished.

"It's late, why don't you guys head on home, I'll take care of Yugi," Golden said.

The three friends walked out without a word, still overwhelmed by Golden's story.

"See you tomorrow," Golden called as they shut the door. Golden walked to Yugi's room and slowly peeked inside. Yugi was lying face down on his bed, crying.

"Yugi?" Golden called.

Yugi didn't answer. He slowly got up and leaned against the wall. Golden jumped up on his bed and sat in front of him.

"You ok?" she asked.

"It's my fault," he whispered.

"What?" Golden asked.

Tears flew down Yugi's cheeks silently, "It's my fault, because of me Grandpa's gone; I'll never see him again." He said sadly.

Golden frowned. "That's not true." she said firmly.

Yugi covered his face with his hands, "It's all my fault! I should've been able to beat Pegasus, and now it's too late! Grandpa's gone and it's all because of me!" he cried.

"Pull yourself together!" Golden cried.

She got on her hind legs and pushed his hands away from his face. Yugi looked at the ground and Golden sat back down. Golden bent her head down to try to meet Yugi's gaze,

"Look at me,"

Yugi didn't respond,

"Look at me." Golden repeated only louder.

Yugi slowly looked sadly into her deep black eyes.

"What's done is done, you can't bring Grandpa back by blaming yourself. I know it's hard, but you've got to put the past behind you and move on. I miss him too; he's my family member as well as yours. I understand how hurt you are; you were right, I did have a family before I met you. But in the end I lost them one by one, now I can never see them again." Golden said softly.

She put her front paws on Yugi's shoulders, "But don't you worry, you're not alone. You have great friends in Joey, Tristan and Tea, and I'm here for you. We will rescue Grandpa, I promise you." Golden said confidently.

Yugi picked up Golden and hugged her tightly. "Thank you Golden." He said softly.

Golden closed her eyes and nuzzled him gently, 'I promised I'd always be there for you Yugi, and I intend to keep that promise, no matter what danger may come our way.' She thought.


	4. Journey to Duelist Kingdom

Chapter 4

Golden stared out the window as the sun set. She kept thinking about all that had happened. It had only been two days since their duel with Pegasus, but the house seemed so empty without Grandpa around. It was obvious Pegasus took Grandpa because of Yugi's puzzle and her collar, but the question was why he wanted them. His Millennium eye was already very powerful, why would he want the power of two more Millennium items?

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone opening and closing the door. Golden trotted downstairs to the game shop, but no one was there. She walked over to the door and saw an envelope wedged in the doorway.

Golden pushed the door gently and the letter fell out. She caught it in her mouth and went over to the counter. She jumped up and placed the letter down. It was a letter for Yugi from Pegasus. She could tell by the scent. She wondered what was inside it.

Just then, the door opened again and Yugi walked in. Golden picked up the letter, jumped off the counter and walked toward him. She stood on her hind legs holding the letter in her mouth.

Yugi took it and stared at it. "It's from Pegasus, what is it?" he asked.

"I don't know, someone just placed it in the door," Golden answered.

Yugi opened the letter; there were some cards inside it. He took them out and placed them on the counter. It was an invitation to a tournament in Duelist Kingdom and the boat was leaving in two days.

Golden stared at the card. "A tournament; are you going to enter Yugi?" Golden asked.

Yugi was silent for a minute, "I have to; it's the only way to save Grandpa." He said.

The next day when Yugi got home from school he started preparing for the tournament. Golden lay on his bed and watched him pack.

"So what did the others think about this?" Golden asked.

"There all for it, but it's too bad they can't all come with me," Yugi answered.

Golden nodded, "By the way Yugi, I've been wondering about something," she said.

Yugi looked at Golden, "What?" he asked.

"You and Joey are really close friends right? How did you two meet up?" Golden asked.

Yugi sat next to Golden and leaned against the wall, "Well, it all started when I got the Millennium puzzle, I made a wish on the puzzle and asked it for a real friend." Yugi said.

"Did it work?" Golden asked.

Yugi nodded, "Right after that, I met up with Joey and Tristan; but they didn't really act like my friends, they kept taking the pieces to the puzzle and Joey even threw one piece out the window!" he explained.

Golden giggled, "That guy is totally different from the Joey I know," Golden said.

"Yeah, I know," Yugi said.

"So when did you guys really become friends?" Golden asked.

"I guess it was when Joey and Tristan were getting picked on by a bully. They were hurt really badly, but I stood up for them even though they picked on me. I got hurt too, but that bully ended up getting expelled and after that day we were good friends." Yugi explained.

"Wow!" Golden exclaimed, "If only he could come to Duelist Kingdom too, it would be reassuring knowing he was there with us."

"Yeah," Yugi said nodding. "I don't know how he'll get onboard without an invitation."

Two days later at 9:30 pm, Yugi stood in the midst of a large crowd of duelists waiting to get on the boat. Golden didn't dare peek out of Yugi's backpack; she had to wait until they were on the boat and a good distance away from Domino City. She was once again a stowaway. She remembered last night very clearly…

"What do you mean I can't come?" Golden was saying, "I want to help you save Grandpa!" Yugi packed the rest of his things,

"I told you Golden; you're staying here," he answered without looking at her.

"But why?" Golden protested, "With the power of my Millennium collar combined with your Millennium Puzzle, we'll defeat Pegasus easily!"

Yugi placed his backpack on his desk chair, "I told you, the answer is no!"

But Golden wasn't giving up without a fight, "But I can help you! We'll both go to Duelist Kingdom and save Grandpa together!" she said.

Yugi pounded his desk with his fist making Golden flinch, "I can't take that risk!" he said firmly.

He faced the small puppy, "Don't you get it? I've already lost Grandpa; I can't risk losing you too."

Golden started to say something, but she just sighed and walked out of the room.

Golden knew she was going against Yugi's wishes, but she just couldn't let Yugi face Pegasus alone. She made a promise and was going to keep it, no matter what. As they waited in line to get onboard a voice yelled out,

"Hey! You! Get out of here! Only official contestants are allowed onboard!"

"How do you know I'm not official?" A very familiar voice asked.

"Because the official duelists aren't trying to sneak onboard through the lower hatches!" The Security guard answered.

Since Golden couldn't risk looking, she used her sense of smell. She knew that scent anywhere; that familiar voice she heard was Joey!

"Stop your struggling! We're gonna have to throw you out!" one of the guards said.

"No way! I'm came here to duel and I'm gonna duel!" Joey shot back.

Golden felt Yugi run toward Joey. Golden rolled her eyes; it was reassuring that Joey had such a strong will, but he really needed to learn how to control it.

Then, Golden heard Yugi's voice, "Leave him alone!" he called out.

"Hey, Yugi!" Joey said.

"What are you doing here Joey?" Yugi asked.

Joey smiled, "Did you really think I'd let you do this alone? C'mon, help me out."

Golden smiled; Joey was just as loyal to Yugi as she was.

Yugi nodded, "He's with me, you gotta let him on," he said.

"Only people with a star chip can get onboard, there are no exceptions!" one of the guards said.

Golden had to try really hard to keep herself from growling. 'You let my friend on that boat or I'm gonna rip your head off!' she thought angrily.

"But Joey has a star chip; didn't he tell you?" Yugi asked.

"I do?" Joey asked.

Yugi placed one of his two star chips in Joey's hand. Joey looked confused, Yugi held up one of information cards about the tournament.

"According to this card, a star chip is proof that one is a duelist," he said.

"That may be true, but all duelists were given two star chips; you'll be at a disadvantage," one of the guards explained.

"Maybe," Yugi said slowly, "But I'd rather take that risk than be without my friend when we get to Duelist Kingdom; I need him."

"Yugi," Joey's hand slowly closed around the star chip.

"What do we do?" one guard asked the other.

The other guard took out his cell phone and dialed a number, "Mr. Pegasus, we've got a problem," he said into the phone.

After a while, they two guards finally let Joey board the boat with Yugi. In no time, the boat shipped off. They were off to Duelist Kingdom. Yugi and Joey walked over to the railing as the boat sailed farther away from Domino City.

"I'm glad they let you onboard Joey," Yugi said.

"Only because you sacrificed one of your star chips for me; but if any of the other players find out we only have one star chip each, they could really try to take advantage of us." Joey said.

"Then keep quiet about it," Yugi said softly.

Golden shrugged, it didn't matter that they only had one star chip; Golden had complete faith that Yugi and Joey would make all the way to the finals. Who knows, one of them could end up facing Pegasus in the end. She was just about to curl up in Yugi's backpack and sleep when her nose picked up a super strong scent of perfume coming toward Yugi and Joey.

"Well, what do we have here?" a female voice said.

Praying that no one was looking, Golden slowly peeked out of Yugi's backpack. The voice belonged to a young woman; she had blond hair and was wearing a purple jacket and purple shorts. Joey's eyes widened at the sight of her,

"Wow!" he breathed.

"So you're the Yugi kid everyone's talking about," she said looking at Yugi.

Joey smiled big, "Whoa-ho! Check it out!" he said.

Golden frowned, she didn't like where this was going. The girl walked toward them and bent down toward Yugi,

"I'm amazed that a squirt like you could beat Kaiba, you're famous you know."

Yugi smiled slightly, "Thanks very much, I think," he said nervously.

Then Joey spoke up, "Hey Miss, I'm a really good friend of the famous Yugi, the master duelist in fact-"

"Look!" The girl interrupted sharply and faced Yugi again,

"You're either a champ or a chump, cut this guy lose, he's fashion challenged and deserves to be crushed in the games." She said and walked away.

"Please, crush me!" Joey said smiling causing Golden to frown and sweat-drop. The girl looked back towards them,

"I'll crush you all eventually; the name's Mai." She said and walked off.

Golden had to bite her own tail to keep from jumping out of the backpack and chasing her down. What an arrogant girl! Golden hoped to teach her a lesson or two in a game of Duel Monsters. Yugi and Joey walked to their rooms inside the boat.

"Hey! Is this a joke or what?" Joey demanded to one of the guards when they got to their rooms. "This is a luxury cruiser! I know you got better rooms somewhere!"

Golden sweat-dropped; leave it Joey to start a riot. The two guards from before ran into the room and grabbed Joey,

"You again? We cut you a break and now you're causing more trouble? Do you wanna get thrown out of here?" They demanded.

Golden's ears perked as she heard a familiar buzz coming from the doorway. Her collar began to glow softly and Golden frantically tried to cover it up.

"Hey, aren't you that kid Yugi?" a voice asked.

Yugi turned around to face two boys standing in the doorway, "Yeah and you're….." Yugi began.

"Weevil! And Rex the Dino Duelist!" Joey finished.

Rex smirked, "You're wasting your time with those guys; the private rooms only go to contestants from the last championship like us."

Yugi walked toward the two boys, "Congratulations on winning the regional's Weevil,"

Weevil smiled, "It was nothing,"

Rex nodded, "Yeah, I went easy on him that time,"

Joey finally managed to break free from the guards, "Yeah? Well this time Yugi and I are gonna take the tournament, right Yugi?" Joey said.

"To tell the truth, winning the last championship didn't feel like much of an achievement," Weevil said, "I guess I can't really call myself the champion until I defeat the duelist who beat Kaiba; but I'm sure I'll end up battling you in the tournament Yugi, frankly, I look forward to it."

He adjusted his glasses and smiled deviously.

"I'm looking forward to it too." Yugi said.

Rex smiled, "I'm looking forward to some dino-demolition," he said.

Weevil walked toward Yugi, "Let me tell you a little secret, it's something none of the other players know about the games yet."

Yugi cocked his head, "Isn't that cheating?" he asked.

Weevil smiled, "The other duelists will find out soon enough, but there are no rules on the island that require more strategy."

Rex shrugged, "Rules are for wimps, in dueling you either smash your opponent or get smashed yourself; it's one or the other." He said.

"Strength is good," Joey agreed, "But you also need to combine them with different types of cards," he said.

"Who asked you? Stay out of my way or I'll stomp you like everyone else!" Rex snapped and he walked off.

Joey frowned, "We'll see who stomps who when we get to the island," he muttered.

Weevil shrugged, "Ignore him, let's scope out the competition,"

Joey looked confused, "What do you mean?" he asked.

Weevil pointed to the other duelists, "Check out those chumps, they're already trading over there; players here are swapping cards and strengthening their decks, getting ready for the big tournament," he explained, "It's also a good chance to get a feel for your opponents' cards."

Golden nodded to herself; that explained how Weevil gets such big insights on his opponents. Joey was already over with the other duelists offering to trade.

"Guess Joey's trading," Yugi said.

"If you've come all this way and you're still trying to improve your deck, you've got to be pretty desperate. Catch you on the flip-side." Weevil said and walked off.

Golden's collar began to blink suddenly. That meant it was sensing something dark. Golden covered up the blinking light from her collar as best she could as Yugi walked out to the deck again. After a while, Joey joined him holding some cards in his hand.

"Yugi, I got some good card trading in." he said and he held them down for Yugi to see. Yugi placed his backpack on a chair and stood up to see.

"Let's see, Salamandra, Kunai with Chain, Baby Dragon, and Shield and Sword, great!" he exclaimed.

Golden's ears perked at the card names, those were really good cards! If Joey used them right, he could come really far as a duelist.

"With these new magic cards combined with your monsters, you'll have a really strong deck." Yugi said.

Joey smiled, "Alright! Now I'm ready to win every duel I play!"

"I think you're gonna find that it's a bit harder than that Joey," Yugi said and he reached into his gold box where he kept all his cards,

"Here, add this to your deck, it can be helpful in a tight spot." He said handing him a card.

Since Golden couldn't see the card, she decided to listen. She closed her eyes and allowed her collar to glow faintly again. She focused on the monster inside the card Yugi was holding.

'Time Magic!' A robotic voice called out.

Golden opened her eyes in realization, that card was the Time Wizard!

Joey took the card, "Thanks, I can't get over how you're always helping me out," he said.

"Ah, we meet again," A voice called out.

Golden could tell instantly from that unmistakable buzz from his cards; Weevil.

Weevil walked over to the railing, "Ah, the evening wind feels so nice," he faced Yugi, "So did you trade for any good cards Yugi?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm gonna duel with the cards I brought along with me," Yugi answered.

"I figured as much," Weevil said, "You used your Exodia cards in your duel with Kaiba right? Those are the strongest cards of them all," he said.

"And really rare." Yugi agreed.

"Could I possibly see those legendary cards?" Weevil asked.

Yugi shrugged, "I don't see why not, just be careful with them." He said and looked through his box for the five cards.

Weevil's glasses gleamed and the buzz from his cards became louder. Golden didn't like this, something was up.

'What's he up to?' she thought, 'Maybe his cards know, I just have to listen carefully.'

She closed her eyes and her collar glowed once again. She focused on the buzz trying to drown out the noise, until she heard some voices.

'That dweeb's actually gonna show Weevil the cards; what a naïve idiot!' one voice scoffed.

'Yeah, cause once master gets the cards, Exodia will go bye-bye!' Another voice said.

Golden opened her eyes and let out a small gasp. She peeked out of Yugi's backpack and saw Yugi holding the five cards out to Weevil.

She ducked back in, 'No! I've got to warn him! But how?' she wondered frantically. Then she remembered one of her collar's newly discovered powers. She closed her eyes and opened a mind link with Yugi and spoke into his mind.

'No Yugi! Don't give them to him, it's a trap!' she cried through her mind.

Yugi hesitated for a second, 'That's weird; I thought I just heard Golden,' he thought, 'It must be my imagination,'

Golden tried to call out to him again but Yugi had already handed Weevil the five Exodia cards. Golden peeked out of the bag in horror as Weevil examined the cards,

"So these are the cards to summon Exodia; for a long time I've been trying to come up with some kind of strategy to finally beat these cards, but I couldn't come up with anything," he paused for a moment, "Until just this moment," he finished and walked toward the railing.

'NO!' Golden cried in her mind.

"Say good-bye to Exodia!" Weevil cried as he tossed the cards overboard and into the ocean.

"NO!" Yugi yelled as he watched the cards drift away.

Weevil walked away laughing evilly.

"Why you!" Joey threatened.

"My cards!" Yugi cried.

"I'll get 'em!" Joey cried and he jumped off the railing and into the ocean.

"Joey! Where are you!" Yugi cried.

Joey surfaced, "I promise, I'll get them Yugi!" Joey called.

"Joey, they're not worth drowning over!" Yugi protested.

"Don't worry!" he called back as he found one Exodia card.

"Joey! Swim back to the ship!" Yugi yelled.

"No way! At least this time there's something I can do to help someone I care about!" Joey yelled back.

Joey found one more card before he was pushed under by a wave.

"JOEY!" Yugi yelled, and to Golden's horror, jumped in after him. Golden jumped out of his backpack and ran to the railing, she looked around desperately for her friends. She saw Joey disappear underwater and Yugi dive in after him. She scanned the water looking for any trace of them.

Just then, flashes of her past came to her eyes. She was standing on a cliff, her eyes scanning a heard of stampeding horses. Her heart was beating madly as she searched the heard for a sign of her loved one. She closed her eyes trying to block the memories from resurfacing. She opened her eyes just in time to see Yugi break the surface holding Joey.

"Yugi!" A voice cried out.

"Are you okay?" Another voice called. Golden looked beside her; a few yards away she saw Tristan and Tea throw down a rope ladder.

"Grab hold!" Tea cried.

"Tea! Tristan!" Yugi cried happily.

He swam over to the ladder with Joey who managed to harness enough energy to climb. Yugi was just about climb up after him when another big wave splashed against the ship. It slammed into Yugi, pushing him back underwater. Golden knew she had to act now. She jumped into the sea and searched underwater for Yugi. She found him just in time; he had swallowed a lot of water so had no energy to swim to the surface and he was sinking fast. Golden grabbed the collar of his jacket in her mouth and swam hard to the surface. They got above water and Yugi coughed and breathed in the clean air.

He looked in shock at his rescuer. "Golden?" he cried.

"Hold on!" Golden cried.

Yugi grabbed her collar and Golden swam toward the ladder. Yugi then held Golden under his arm and climbed the ladder. Eventually, they were both safely on the boat deck.

"That was close, I'm really glad you guys showed up," Yugi said.

"We're a team, we all stick together," Tea said.

"We'll always watch your back," Tristan added.

Yugi nodded, "Thanks a lot you guys," he turned to Golden, "As for you, I have some questions for you." He said.

Golden knew this was coming, "Okay, okay, I snuck into your backpack when you weren't looking," she said quickly. "I know you wanted to keep me safe by leaving me behind, but I couldn't let you go fight Pegasus on your own; like Tea said, we're a team." Golden said.

Yugi pet her head, "Well, to tell the truth, I'm glad you're here with us; it wouldn't be the same without you," he said.

Golden smiled, "So I can stay?" she asked.

Yugi nodded, "Of course; thanks for saving me." He said.

Golden nodded, "No problem."

Joey sat up, "I'm sorry Yugi, I failed, I only found two of your cards," he said sadly.

"It's okay Joey," Yugi reassured.

Joey frowned, "It's not okay, it's always this way with me, I'm never able to help anybody; not even my own sister, Serenity." He looked at the ground.

"Sister?" Golden asked.

"You really have a sister Joey?" Tea asked.

Joey nodded, "Our parents divorced years ago when we were kids, she lives far away with my mother," Joey explained, "My sister's had really bad eyesight since she was born, eventually she'll go blind,"

"I'm sorry," Yugi said.

"Thanks Yug," Joey responded, "She sent me a message; the doctors told her that the time had come, soon her eyes will be impossible to repair even with surgery. But there are specialists who could perform an operation now before it's too late, they could save her eyesight!" he explained.

Joey looked at the ground, "But there's no way I can pay for the operation, I have to win for her! Winning in Duelist Kingdom and getting the prize money is the only way I can help Serenity!" Joey said with tears in his eyes.

Golden closed her eyes as a single tear fell from her face. More flashes of her past came to her mind; she was hanging from a dead tree as the horses stampeded past her. The weak branch she hung onto bounced wildly from the pounding hoofs. Finally the branch snapped and she was thrown into the air, but was immediately grabbed by another dog. The flashes ended and she opened her eyes.

The sun was just about to come up. The five friends stood at the head of the boat looking ahead to the island.

"We'll both do our best Joey; you for your sister and me for my grandpa," Yugi said.

Tea nodded, "That's right, we'll do this together!"

"Look, the island!" Tristan said as a large island came into view.

"That's the Duelist Kingdom; this is it, we're almost there." Yugi said. Golden nodded; their adventure was just about to begin.


	5. The Ultimate Great Moth

Chapter 5:

Seagulls flew overhead as the large ship drew closer to the island. "Man, this Duelist Kingdom looks like a pretty big place Yugi; finding your grandpa's not gonna be easy." Joey said.

"Well, we've gotta start somewhere," Yugi said.

The boat eventually pulled up to land and everyone got ready to get off the ship. Unfortunately, the dock was full of security guards.

"Whoa, check out the suits," Joey sneered.

Tristan looked nervous, "Tea, what if one of those security guys find out that were both stowaways? We ought to just play it safe and swim back," he said.

"We're in the middle of nowhere lame-brain!" Tea snapped, "If you can just try to act normal we'll be okay,"

Golden ducked back into Yugi's backpack as the four walked off the boat,

"Act cool, act cool, just stay cool," Tristan muttered to himself over and over again.

"Hey you!" One of the guards called out to him.

Tristan froze in fear. Golden peeked out of the backpack and all the others whirled around.

"Don't look so nervous, you guys are our guests here," the guard said.

Tristan whirled around, "That's right! I'm your guest!" he said bowing, and he ran toward the others.

He took a few deep breaths, "I think I just had a heart attack," he said shakily.

"Way to play it cool, that didn't look suspicious at all." Tea said sarcastically.

"Alright!" Joey said excitedly, "Every one of us made it here safe and soun-ah…ACHOOO!" he sneezed.

"You'd have never caught that cold if it wasn't for Weevil," Yugi said as he remembered the chaos Weevil caused the night before.

Joey wiped his nose, "Speakin' of our wormy friend, looks like he just slithered his way off the boat and is already looking to start some trouble,"

They looked over where Weevil was standing, "That slime-ball, I'd love to wipe that smirk off his face!" Joey sneered.

Golden's head came out of Yugi's backpack,

"How about I hold him, and you punch?" she asked evilly. She couldn't wait to get a hold of that creep; he almost cost Yugi and Joey their lives.

Just then, the head security guard stepped up, "Welcome all duelists; please follow the stairs to meet your host," he said pointing to a long stone staircase leading up to a castle.

"That castle's gotta belong to Pegasus," Yugi said frowning.

"Then what're we waitin' for?" Joey asked and they all began to climb the stairs. As they climbed, Golden's collar began to blink again. She looked down towards the forest and saw a boy with a ring around his neck standing by a tree.

Tea saw him too, "What's that?" she wondered out loud.

Everyone turned to her, "What do you see Tea?" Yugi asked.

"It looked like…..Bakura," she said slowly.

"Bakura? From school?" Yugi asked.

They looked toward the forest, but the boy had vanished.

"Again with this Bakura stuff?" Tristan asked.

"Where is he Tea?" Joey asked. But no one was in sight.

"That's two times now that I've seen him, but he's not there anymore; maybe it's all in my head," Tea said shrugging.

"I don't think so Tea, I think I saw him too," Golden said.

"C'mon, we're on a rescue mission, remember?" Tristan reminded, and the gang continued to walk up the stairs.

Everyone gathered at the entrance to the castle, waiting for Pegasus to appear.

"Attention," a voice called out, "Please gather around, your benevolent host is anxious to greet you all,"

Yugi and Golden frowned, "Benevolent, my paw," Golden muttered.

"Boy would I like to get just five minutes alone with that guy," Joey said softly.

Pegasus finally appeared on the balcony, "Greetings duelists, I am Maximilian Pegasus," he said loudly, "It is my great honor and pleasure to welcome you all to the Duelist Kingdom. You stand before me, the world's greatest duelists; but come tournaments end, only one will be crowned the King of Games. I implore you all to assemble your dueling decks with care, creativity, and cunning, for this competition will test your skills like never before."

Pegasus held up a dueling glove and star chips, "To track your progress in the tournament, you've each been given a dueling glove and star chips. You must wager these star chips in each duel you compete in. To advance to the final level of competition for a chance at the three million dollar prize, you must win ten star chips. Ten star chips will admit you into my castle where you'll face me in one final duel. This will be a tournament unlike anything you've ever experienced; state of the art dueling arenas cover this entire island, and intriguing dueling rules will be in effect. I could tell you what these new rules are, but what fun would that be? You'll discover them as you compete or you won't last very long; remember, play boldly, think strategically, and duel mercilessly. You have one full hour to prepare both your cards and yourselves. When the sky lights up with fireworks, the duels will begin!" Pegasus explained.

Everyone applauded and started getting ready. Yugi and the others waited in a grassy field,

"Yugi, I don't know if I can win this thing," Joey said nervously, "Maybe it would be best if you took your star chip back,"

Yugi shook his head, "You keep it, your little sister's counting on you to win the prize money for her."

Joey nodded, "Thanks man,"

"You can do it," Tea said, "You just have to steer clear of the more experienced duelists at first,"

Tristan nodded, "Yeah; it's just a matter of working your way up."

"Thanks you guys," Joey said gratefully, "Well Yugi, between your grandpa and my sister we don't have any room for mistakes."

Yugi and Golden nodded. Just then, fireworks lit up above Pegasus's castle. The tournament had begun.

"Let's do it!" Yugi said. The five friends walked down a path,

"So what's your plan Yugi?" Joey asked.

"Well, I might as well stick with Weevil; after all, we do have a score to settle." Yugi said frowning.

Golden nodded, "He is SO gonna pay; not only for costing us Exodia, but also for nearly causing you guys to drown!" she growled.

"I was hopin' you'd say that!" Joey said happily.

"Isn't that him?" Tea asked pointing near a forest entrance. Weevil was waiting for them.

"Weevil! I challenge you to a duel!" Yugi yelled. But Weevil immediately turned and ran into the forest.

"I don't believe it! He's running away!" Joey cried. Golden jumped off Yugi's shoulder as the group began to give chase. They ran deeper into the forest where flocks of moths flew all around them.

"Where are all these moths coming from?" Tristan wondered.

"Ugh! They're disgusting!" Tea cried. They continued to run after Weevil, but they weren't catching up at all.

"He's fast for a little guy!" Tristan said.

"Maybe you're just slow for a big guy!" Tea shot back.

"We'll never catch him, as long as we're on this island he could run all day!" Joey cried. Golden and Yugi on the other hand were wondering what Weevil was up to. Maybe it was about the new rules he mentioned on the boat. Golden hoped for Yugi's sake that he figured them out, because Weevil could be planning to take advantage of that while they dueled. The gang eventually came to a clearing where Weevil was waiting for them.

"Welcome, said the spider to the fly; you flew right into my trap again!" he cried.

"It's time you answered for what you did on the boat Weevil!" Yugi said firmly.

Golden nodded, "Let's squash this little pest!"

Their Millennium items began to glow and they both changed into their more confident forms.

"Alright Weevil, it's time to see if you're as good at dueling as you are at running away," Yugi said.

Weevil smirked, "Was I simply running away or cleverly weaving you into my web?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter what you have planned this time Weevil," Golden shot back.

"It's time to duel!" Yugi said.

Weevil laughed, "As you wish!" he yelled and the ground began to shake violently.

"It's an earthquake!" Joey cried.

"What have you done!" Yugi demanded. A large portion of the ground split open and an enormous duel arena emerged from the ground.

"I guess this is what Pegasus meant when he said duel arenas were scattered around the island," Golden said.

"They're huge!" Tea exclaimed.

"These aren't gonna be like the duels back home," Joey said.

"You've just stepped into a hornet's nest and there's no way out! I'll just meet you on the field!" Weevil said and went to his side of the arena. Yugi and Golden took their places on the other side of the field.

"I don't like this, Weevil's a little too cocky" Joey muttered.

"I noticed you just have one star chip Yugi," Weevil said, "I guess that means I'll have the pleasure of eliminating you from the tournament and once you're gone everyone else's chips will be easy pickings!"

"Not if we take your two chips first," Golden shot back.

Yugi nodded, "This will be an all or nothing match for both of us," he declared.

"Why should I risk both my star chips when you only have one?" Weevil demanded.

"Because I have something else I think you want; my whole Duel Monsters deck!" Yugi answered holding up his cards.

Weevil smiled evilly, "So, you'd risk your Grandpa's deck? Fine with me," Weevil said and laughed, "Winning all your cards will be an easy way to exterminate you once and for all!"

Golden frowned, "We'll see who exterminates who; let's begin this match!"

"Swat that little twerp like a mosquito!" Joey cheered. A small crowd was already beginning to form to watch the duel.

"Duel!" Yugi and Weevil yelled.

Weevil drew a card and placed it on the field, "Let's see how you two like my Killer Needle," The giant wasp appeared on in front of Weevil.

"You'll have to get through my Mammoth Graveyard first, this massive monster will match your annoying insect point for point," Yugi responded and the monster appeared. It was a good start so far; both monsters had an equal number of attack points so they would both be destroyed, but no life points would be taken away.

"Attack!" Yugi yelled and the monster charged toward Killer Needle.

"Killer Needle, let's show that mammoth your stinger! Attack!" Weevil yelled. Both monsters collided but only Mammoth Graveyard was destroyed.

"No!" Golden and Yugi cried.

Weevil smiled, "Gone after one sting? He must be allergic!" he sneered. This didn't make any sense; both monsters should've been destroyed. Something was wrong.

"Have you begun to figure out yet why I led you all the way to this forest area?" he asked.

"Please, enlighten us," Golden said with sarcasm.

"If you just look around, you'll see that this area is an exact replica of our surrounding environment, one part wasteland and one part forest," Weevil explained, "And who thrives in the forest? Bugs! The strongest and most powerful insects rule the forest, so as long as I play my bugs in the forest area I get a field power bonus!" Weevil smiled, "I guess you weren't listening when Pegasus said that this tournament would have new surprises in store; maybe if you were smart enough to steal the new rules like I did, you'd be getting the field power bonus instead of me!"

Joey clenched his fists, "He cheated! He led us here because he knew he'd have an un-fair advantage!"

Weevil just smiled, "Go ahead; call me a cheater! Your all just mad you didn't swipe the rules yourselves, and because you didn't, little Yugi is about to get stung!"

Yugi and Golden just laughed, causing Weevil to get confused. "How can you be laughing?" Weevil asked.

"Because, take a look at your Killer Needle now," Yugi answered. Weevil watched in shock as the giant monster disappeared to the card graveyard.

"My monster! What have you done to my monster!" he demanded. He looked at the screen; Yugi's life points hadn't decreased and his monsters power had increased to the same amount as the Killer Needle.

"Looks like my Mammoth got a field power bonus from the wasteland area just like your bugs did from the forest area," Yugi said.

Weevil gritted his teeth, "The field point advantage was supposed to be mine alone," He growled.

"I kept wondering why we were traveling to some remote island just to duel, but as soon as I saw this holographic display grid it all came together; every monster has a field that it does best on, like a home-field advantage, and what makes this island so special is that it contains every type of field imaginable. So when you deliberately led us to this spot, you were clearly trying to give yourself a field advantage." Yugi explained.

Golden nodded, "I had a feeling you'd understand all this easily, you really are a quick learner," she said.

"Thanks," Yugi said.

Weevil laughed, "You're awfully clever to put it all together like that Yugi, but figuring out one rule won't be enough! There are surprises hidden under every rock, and I know them all!"

"You can beat him Yugi!" Tea cheered.

"Don't let that little flea scare ya, he's bluffing!" Joey said.

"Really?" Weevil asked as he and Yugi drew their next card. "Then let's just see how you handle this bluff," Weevil said as he summoned another monster to the field, "My Hercules Beetle will find a way to crawl under your skin!"

Yugi gritted his teeth and picked a card. "I play Feral Imp," he said and the monster appeared. "And now I'll add Horn of the Unicorn to raise my attack points," The magical horn appeared on the imp and its attack increased to 2000.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that! Hercules Beetle! Attack!" Weevil yelled. The beetle shot small waves of energy at the imp.

"Feral Imp! Magic Lightning Attack!" Yugi yelled. The imp shot a blast of lightning from its horn. The lightning took a direct hit on the beetle, but it didn't do a thing while the beetle's attack hit Feral Imp, destroying it and decreasing Yugi's life points to 1350.

"Yugi's attack didn't even phase that thing!" Tea exclaimed.

"Something's screwy!" Joey agreed.

"The Feral Imp's attack should've destroyed that beetle!" Golden said.

"Is this another trick Weevil?" Yugi asked.

"No Yugi," Weevil answered, "I just thought you knew that all monsters with a field power bonus were resistant to any magic attacks; and since my Hercules Beetle easily reflected your lightning bolts he has more than enough power to destroy your puny Feral Imp and continue to eat away at your life points!"

Golden frowned; this didn't look good; even though Yugi knew about the field boost, Weevil still had the upper hand. They had to think of a comeback and fast!

"It's your turn! Make your move!" Weevil called. Yugi responded by playing a monster face-down in defense mode.

"So we're defending now are we? Very clever! Since I can't see your monster's defense points I can't be sure I can beat it, but even your strongest monsters can't stand against my Basic Insect," Weevil said as he called it to the field next to his beetle. "Not only does he get a field power bonus, but I'm upgrading him with a level three laser cannon and a level two power boost!" Weevil said as he equipped the cards to his insect. "Now Yugi, for all the innocent little bugs you squashed, stomped, crushed, or fumigated, it's payback time!" Weevil yelled and the laser fired.

Yugi and Golden shut their eyes as the explosion destroyed Yugi's face-down card.

"You'll have to do better than that if you hope to survive my bug's laser powered arsenal," Weevil said.

Yugi held up a card, "Then, I'll play this card," and he placed it face-down.

"Fine, I'm going to keep you on the defensive," Weevil said, "attack with any monster and you will instantly activate this trap card," He explained as he placed it face-down on the field. Now Yugi couldn't even counter attack. "As long as my trap card remains in play you're powerless to make a move against me!" Weevil bragged, "So, does my tightening web make you squirm?" he asked.

Golden opened her mind link with Yugi, 'Sheesh! Both he and his cards are so busy bragging that he doesn't even care what card we played,' Golden scoffed.

Yugi placed another card face-down, 'Then maybe I'll set a little trap of my own,' Yugi responded to her. Golden nodded in understanding.

"Face it Yugi, I've got you totally pinned down, and while you're totally unable to attack me, I can attack you anytime I want! Each time you cower, I create a new monster!" Weevil boasted. As each turn went on, Weevil kept summoning new monsters, while Yugi kept playing cards face-down. "Keep drawing Yugi, my army of insects just keeps getting bigger! I'm going to wipe all your monsters out in one bug blitzkrieg!" Weevil said.

'That's right Weevil, put all your monsters on the field,' Yugi thought.

Golden nodded, 'Just keep flying toward the fly paper you little insect,' she said in her mind.

"Just look at our Yugi and little innocent Golden, they're so confident up there," Tea said.

"I know, when their dueling it's like they become totally different people," Joey agreed.

Weevil drew his next card and laughed, "Well what do you know, I'm down to my last monstrous insect, and you know what that means Yugi; you're about to be exterminated!"

Yugi drew his next card, "We'll see what my cards have to say about that," his card was the Dark Magician! 'This is perfect! There's no way Weevil can resist him as a target!' Yugi thought.

'Awesome! It's time to bait the trap!' Golden responded.

"Alright Weevil! I defend with the Dark Magician!" Yugi said as he placed the card face-down.

"Excellent! I'll destroy your very favorite card first!" Weevil said happily, "Now my pet, power up your laser cannon!" Weevil ordered and his Basic Insect got ready to fire, "Attack!" Weevil yelled and the laser powered up.

Yugi and Golden just laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Weevil asked in horror.

"Weevil, you're not the only one who can set a trap card," Yugi responded.

Golden smiled, "It's hard to believe a duelist like you can be so skilled and yet, so clueless at what your opponent was doing this whole time," she said.

"What?" Weevil cried.

"You were so busy grandstanding that you paid no attention to the cards I put into play," Yugi said.

"But I thought they were all monster cards!" Weevil cried.

"Not all of them," Golden said.

"While you loaded the field with your bug monsters, I prepared a special surprise the power of my Mirror Force trap card!" Yugi said.

"Hold your fire!" Weevil cried to his Basic Insect.

"Too late Weevil, you already ordered your attack on my Dark Magician," Yugi said as the laser fired but was stopped by a shield.

"And Mirror Force will deflect it right back at you!" Golden added. Weevil's attack bounced off the shield and showered onto all of his insects.

"My life points are devastated!" Weevil said in shock as they decreased all the way to 555.

"Yes!" Yugi said and Golden smiled in triumph. Joey, Tristan and Tea cheered down below for them, but Weevil was still shocked by Yugi's comeback.

"You're a liar and a cheat Weevil, but it was your overconfidence that allowed me to get the best of you. Your insects are decimated, your life points are low and as you said before, you have used up all your monsters." Yugi said smiling.

Weevil smiled, "Actually, I lied about that too, I still have my most formidable creature waiting in the wings, and this unconquerable insect will swat you down once and for all!" he said. Yugi gritted his teeth and Golden frowned; this duel wasn't over by a long shot. Yugi's friends cheered from below.

"Nice move Yugi!" Joey said.

"Alright, you got him on the ropes!" Tea cheered.

"Yeah right!" A voice called out. Everyone whirled around to see Mai walking toward them. Golden could tell instantly from the perfume stench.

'Oh great, this should be fun," Golden grumbled in her thoughts. Golden ignored Mai and focused back on the duel.

"You may have flattened my army of bugs Yugi, but you haven't won, I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve," Weevil growled.

"You've done an awful lot of buzzing throughout this whole duel Weevil, but I'm still waiting for the sting," Yugi said smiling.

"You can say that again," Golden said.

"Since your new to this whole dueling tournament thing, I'll try to make this simple for you; I'm gonna wipe that goofy grin from your face!" Weevil said, "Now let's see which lucky bug gets to take the first bite," Weevil picked a card from his hand, "Oh, but this little bug won't stand a chance against all your ferocious monsters," Weevil said frowning, "Oh well, I'll place him in defense mode," he sighed.

"That would've been a nice bluff, but I still haven't forgotten about the trap card you played," Yugi said.

'How are you gonna deal with that trap?' Golden asked through their link.

'I think I'll get all my monsters off the field first and then activate the trap,' Yugi responded.

Golden nodded, 'Go for it!'

"I'll spring your trap Weevil," Yugi said and he placed a card on the field, "But first, the Monster Recovery Card! It allows me to call back all the creatures I have on the field!" All of Yugi's monsters returned to their cards. "Now your trap has nothing to snare; and once all my monsters are all safely back in my deck, the recovery card lets me draw a new hand," Yugi shuffled his deck and picked five new cards. "Now I just have to sacrifice a weaker monster and your trap is sprung! Kuriboh! Attack!" Yugi said as he placed the card on the field.

The trap activated and a giant worm that emerged from it destroyed Kuriboh, dropping Yugi's life points down to 1050. "Trap cards only work when they catch you by surprise, next time, don't give your plan away," Yugi said smiling.

Weevil laughed, "I didn't! I don't give a bee's behind about that stupid trap! I tricked you into recalling your monsters so you couldn't attack this!" Weevil flipped his face-down card into attack mode. It was a Larvae Moth.

'That monster isn't much of a threat,' Yugi thought.

'What's Weevil up to now?' Golden wondered.

"Sure, he's just a little slug now," Weevil said as he drew another card, "But the Cocoon of Evolution will change all that!"

Yugi's eyes widened.

"Oh no," Golden said under her breath.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Weevil asked as sticky goop surrounded the Larvae, enveloping it in a gooey cocoon.

"Ugh!" Yugi said.

"That's just revolting!" Golden said. After what felt like hours, the cocoon was finally complete.

"Behold, my Cocoon of Evolution!" Weevil said laughing, "Within that cocoon sits my tiny little Larvae Moth, and over the next five turns he will undergo a startling transformation, from harmless caterpillar to unstoppable great moth!" he explained.

"Then I'll crack your cocoon before that happens," Yugi said.

"Easier said than done Yugi," Weevil said, "For my Cocoon of Evolution also gets a field power bonus, increasing its defense points; it'll be so strong, you won't be able to scratch its surface!" The cocoon's defense points rose all the way to 2600. "Just five more turns Yugi, in five turns my Great Moth will evolve and finish you off!" Weevil said smiling.

'We better act fast Yugi!' Golden said through their mind link.

'I know, because that thing's getting stronger every second!' Yugi responded.

'Don't worry, there's bound to be a card that can stop it,' Golden said.

Yugi placed a card down, "Gaia the Fierce Knight! Shatter that cocoon!" Yugi yelled. The monster appeared and charged toward the cocoon. Unfortunately, Gaia's joust just bounced off the cocoon and Yugi's life points dropped to 750.

Weevil smiled, "That's one turn down, care to try again?" he asked sarcastically, "Hear it growing? The more time you waste, the more powerful it becomes!"

Golden frowned, 'We can't risk just ramming that cocoon, we need to power up Gaia somehow,' Golden thought.

Yugi nodded, 'Yeah, because if we lose, we lose the only chance we have of saving Grandpa,' he said.

Weevil drew another card, "Tick tock tick tock, just four more turns until my ultimate insect emerges," he said smiling, "Then you can stop worrying about how to destroy it, and start worrying about how it is going to destroy you!"

Yugi placed Beaver Warrior in defense mode just in case. Weevil saw his move and smirked, "You're wasting you turn, no defense will save your life points once my monster is out!"

'We have to turn this duel around!' Yugi thought frantically.

'I know, Weevil's pretty confident that that monster is unbeatable, but every monster has a weakness; there's gotta be a way to destroy that thing!' Golden responded.

"Hang in there you two!" Tea called.

"You've gotta win this for your grandpa, he's counting on you two!" Joey said.

"I know," Yugi said.

"Then you can't keep letting this little creep push you around, you gotta get fired up!" Joey said. Yugi and Golden's eyes widened,

'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?' Golden asked.

'Yeah! Get fired up!' Yugi answered.

They nodded to each other and Yugi gave his friends a thumbs up sign. He placed another card on the field, "Go Curse of Dragon! Take flight!" he yelled. The monster appeared next to Gaia. "And I'll combine with this magic card!" Yugi added, "Attack with Dragon Flame!" he yelled. The dragon shot a large stream of flames from its mouth and fire surrounded the cocoon.

"What do you think you're doing?" Weevil demanded, "You know your little firefly can't hurt my cocoon!"

Yugi and Golden laughed softly.

"What's so funny?" Weevil asked.

"Who said we were aiming for your cocoon?" Golden asked.

Yugi nodded, "I combined my Burning Land magic card with my Curse of Dragon to destroy the forest all around your cocoon!" Yugi explained.

"No forest?" Weevil exclaimed, "That means I lose my field power bonus!" he cried.

"Exactly, your cocoon was too tough to attack directly, but without its power bonus it's one big target!" Yugi said as the cocoon's defense points dropped to 2000.

"Now, how about we try this again?" Golden asked.

Yugi nodded, "With pleasure. Gaia the Fierce Knight! Attack!" he yelled. Gaia charged toward the cocoon and stabbed it with his joust, making a huge hole in the center. Weevil smiled evilly; something seemed to be moving inside there.

"Is it still alive?" Tea asked.

"I have a feeling we're about to find out." Joey answered. Golden's collar shimmered as the cocoon collapsed, she could hear a new voice from the smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal a large bug. It must have evolved just enough to survive Gaia's attack.

Weevil laughed, "I'm impressed that you pierced my cocoon Yugi, but you were unable to stop the evolution of my ultimate insect, the Great Moth!"

Yugi frowned, "But I thought it took five turns,"

"So you stopped him one turn early, he's still strong enough to beat you!" Weevil responded. Golden frowned, Weevil may have turned the match around again, but that wasn't going to stop them.

"So Yugi, feeling outclassed yet?" Weevil asked, "Or perhaps you're enjoying your first major league dueling loss!"

"You may have gotten your prize monster onto the field Weevil, but I'll find a way to squash that over-sized bug!" Yugi shot back.

"That's an understatement!" Golden added.

"You'll pay for that stinging jab with your life points!" Weevil yelled, "Great Moth! Take flight!" The giant monster flapped its wings and hovered above the playing field.

"So be it, we'll settle this in the sky!" Yugi said as Curse of Dragon joined the Moth.

Weevil looked toward Gaia, "I think it's time I pay back your Knight for demolishing my cocoon!" he said.

'No! Not him!' Golden cried through her mind.

'He's the heart of my attack force; we can't afford to lose him!' Yugi agreed.

"This is it Yugi!" Weevil yelled, "My Great Moth will crush your defenses, slay your Knight, and blast your dragon from the sky!"

Yugi pulled another card, "Not if I can help it!" and he placed the card Polymerization on the field.

"But that's just it! You can't help it! Moth, Hurricane Attack!" Weevil yelled. The moth shot two large tornadoes from its wings that demolished Beaver Warrior. "It's hopeless! Nothing can stand against my Moth's Hurricane attack! Your Knight will be totally blown away!" Weevil yelled as the gusts of wind enveloped Gaia.

Weevil laughed, "That'll teach him to mess with my cocoon!"

Yugi smiled, "Don't count on it,"

Weevil looked confused.

"Once again, you proved to be quite clueless you slug!" Golden said slyly.

Yugi held up the Polymerization card, "You were so busy fawning over your Great Moth you didn't notice I played a Polymerization card!"

Weevil's eyes widened, "But…I thought…" he said slowly.

"If I have two compatible monsters on the field, I can fuse them into one ultimate creature!" Yugi explained as Gaia fused with Curse of Dragon in the air and its attack was now equal to the Great Moth's.

Weevil frowned, "I'm not some beginner; I know what fusion does!"

Yugi smiled, "Then you must know it increases my attack points, my fused Dragon Knight Combo is now powerful enough to go head to head with your Great Moth!" Yugi explained.

Weevil laughed again, "I wouldn't be too sure about that! Look again!"

Yugi and Golden looked up to see that Gaia was losing attack points and fast. "But how?" Yugi wondered.

"It's poison Yugi, poison particles from my Great Moth," Weevil answered, "Each time it uses its Hurricane attack it releases tons of these tiny toxic particles and your precious Dragon Knight Combo is being poisoned by their deadly touch!" Weevil laughed as Gaia continued to quickly lose more life points.

Golden could hear Gaia's cries of pain from the poison, but how could they help him if being attacked by air?

'What are we gonna do Yugi? We gotta help Gaia!' Golden said frantically through their link.

'Don't worry, Grandpa's deck won't let us down!'Yugi responded and he drew his next card. It was just the one they needed! "Ready to be rained out Weevil?" Yugi asked as he placed the card on the field, "Makiu, the Magical Mist!"

Weevil's eyes widened in horror as it began to rain all over the field. "No! My poison! You're washing it all away!" he cried.

"That's right, Magical Mist washes the field clean," Yugi explained.

"No fair!" Weevil said, "I was about to win and you save yourself with a little drizzle?"

Golden smiled, 'You didn't play Makiu just to get rid of the poison did you Yugi?' Golden asked.

Yugi smiled, 'Nope, saving Gaia isn't all this rain did.' He answered.

Weevil smiled, "You may have stopped my poisonous attack, but I promise you've only won a brief reprieve! Because my next move is one you won't be able to think your way out of! Brace yourself for my ultimate insects ultimate attack!" Weevil yelled.

"Oh dear," Golden said softly.

"Great Moth! Tornado of Doom!" Weevil yelled. The shot a large tornado that enveloped Gaia and Curse of Dragon, easily destroying them and dropping Yugi's life points to 50.

"A direct hit!" Weevil cried with glee, "Your little rainstorm didn't save you from that one now did it? Your Knight is toast and you're almost out of life points!"

Yugi and Golden just smiled and laughed.

"Hey! Hey! What are you two so happy about? Stop that snickering!" Weevil demanded.

"You really are one of the most clueless duelists we've met!" Golden said smiling.

"I know it will be very difficult for you to accept losing a duel, especially after spending so much time finding inventive ways to cheat; but if you thought bending the rules would help you win this match, you're wrong." Yugi said.

"No! This is a trick!" Weevil said.

"I'm afraid it's far from that," Golden said.

Yugi nodded, "You play dishonestly, so you expect the same from your opponents, but I duel with honor Weevil, and that makes all the difference!"

Weevil looked scared, "You got nothing!" he shot back.

Yugi held up a card, "Here's what I've got; the mighty Summoned Skull!" he placed the monster on the field. "This is it Weevil, your ultimate insect won't withstand my next attack!" Yugi said.

Golden nodded, "I think it's time we ended this duel; after all, Magical Mist is still dampening the field."

Weevil looked confused and looked around. "She's right!" Weevil cried, "Everything's wet, my Great Moth is totally soaked!"

Yugi nodded, "And my Summoned Skull attacks with electricity, making your water-logged bug a giant lightning rod," Yugi explained, "I hope you're in the mood for some fireworks Weevil, because all this water boosts my monster's attack by 1000 points! Summoned Skull! Lightning Strike!" he yelled.

The monster lit up with electricity, and a huge lightning bolt struck the moth from the sky. There was an explosion, and the Great Moth fell to the ground, burnt to a crisp.

"It's over, I've won." Yugi said simply.

"No! Impossible! My Moth's unbeatable!" Weevil cried. He fell to the ground as his life points dropped to zero. Joey, Tristan and Tea cheered as Yugi and Golden stepped down from the arena.

Weevil fell to his knees, devastated by his loss. "But I'm the Regional Champion! The Regional Champion!" he protested. Yugi and Golden walked toward him,

"How pathetic," Golden said.

"You call yourself a champion, but you only won your duels through lying and cheating," Yugi said, "True champions, they play with honor, they play fair."

Joey stood over Weevil, "Aw, don't waste your breath on this sneaky slug, he's a dueling disgrace; and I hereby relieve him of his dueling gauntlet!" Joey snatched Weevil's glove and Yugi put the two star chips inside his gauntlet. Golden breathed a sigh of relief; the annoying buzz from Weevil's cards had finally died down.

"Well, we may have won this duel, but we still need seven star chips if we want to find Grandpa." Golden said.

Yugi nodded, "Soon, we'll get inside Pegasus's castle where we'll rescue Grandpa and duel Pegasus once and for all!"


	6. First Duel

Chapter 6:

Yugi and the others stood at the entrance of the forest where Yugi and Weevil had dueled. Golden was glad Yugi came through on his first duel, and that they got to teach Weevil a thing or two. But Golden was wondering when Joey was going to duel, she really wanted to see if Grandpa's lessons paid off. Joey seemed to be thinking the same thing,

"Okay, bring 'em on!" Joey said clenching his fists, "I'm itching to duel and I'm taking on the next player we see!" He ran ahead down the meadow.

"You know, I'm not so sure Joey's up to this," Tea said.

"Yeah, there are tournament level players here, but don't you think he's smart enough to realize that?" Tristan asked.

Joey ran to the edge of the meadow and faced the sea, "Here I stand! The next Duel Monsters champion!" he yelled.

Yugi, Golden and Tea sweat-dropped,

"He needs a reality check," Tea said.

"Guess he's about as smart as he looks," Tristan agreed.

"It's just a feeling, but I think this tournament will really help Joey come really far as a duelist," Golden said.

Yugi smiled, "Yeah, if he just believes in the heart of the cards, he may make it to the finals," he agreed.

Joey was staring out to the ocean, deep in thought. Everyone else joined him, when they heard cheering nearby. They all turned to find Duel Monster stadiums all over the place.

"Look at 'em, they're everywhere!" Tristan exclaimed.

"You said it! Lots of dueling going on," Yugi agreed; Golden nodded.

"Right! I'm going in!" Joey declared.

"You sure you want to do this? If you lose you give up your only star chip," Tristan reminded him. Joey fell over in realization.

"Don't panic," Yugi reassured, "You can do this Joey."

Joey got back up, "I hope your right Yugi; this'll be my first official duel, and I can't afford to be kicked out at the start." He said.

Yugi nodded, "True, but not everyone here is a pro,"

"I'm sure there's someone here on your level," Golden reassured.

Joey took out his deck, "I guess I should find the type of field my cards are suited for; they're mostly fighting type monsters, I guess that makes the meadow region my kind of turf," he said.

"See? You know what you're doing," Yugi said.

Golden nodded, "You'll be fine, just-" she stopped as her nose twitched. She sniffed the air; she could smell the unmistakable scent of perfume.

"What's up Golden?" Yugi asked.

"You lost crybaby, so give me your star chips!" A voice called out before Golden could answer.

Tea frowned, "A voice that annoying can only belong to Mai," she said slowly.

They looked over to see Mai, who had just finished a duel. Mai was laughing in triumph and the other duelist walked away crying. Mai stopped laughing as they walked toward her,

"Oh, look who's here," she said as if disgusted.

"Wow, Mai's already won two more star chips!" Joey said in amazement.

Mai walked over to Yugi, "Hey Yugi, are your duels going well?" she asked sweetly.

"I'm making progress," Yugi answered.

Mai took his wrist to look at his gauntlet, causing Golden and Tea to flinch and frown. "So you have three star chips do you?" Mai asked, "I might be up for a duel myself!"

Tea went up close to Yugi and whispered to him, "Take her! Knock her out of the tournament and off the island!"

Golden nodded in agreement, "Yeah! Let's take this hag down!" she whispered.

Mai smiled, "You know, I'm definitely up for a duel right now! So get ready, because I challenge you Joey!" she said pointing to Joey.

"What! You challenge me!" Joey asked in confusion.

"Do you have the guts to accept?" Mai asked in return.

Joey smiled, "Guess you heard about my skill,"

"Don't flatter yourself, I overheard you and Yugi talking on the boat and I know he gave you the one star chip," Mai explained, "My motto is take out the weakest players first; and considering that you wouldn't even be here if hadn't given you a star chip, then you've got to be the weakest duelist on the island!"

Joey frowned, "Hey! Do you have to be so insulting?" he asked,

"This time she was being truthful," Tea said causing Joey to gape.

"Mai's ruthless, don't duel her first," Tea said.

Tristan nodded, "Don't you get it? If you lose this duel you're out for good!"

Tea leaned toward Yugi, "Yugi, stand up for him, you have to duel him in his place," she whispered urgently.

Yugi and Golden looked at Mai and Joey, who was steamed and ready to go.

"This is his decision," Yugi said.

Golden nodded, "Get out there and show Mai what you're made of!" she said.

"Right, she thinks I'm a pushover, but she'll see!" Joey agreed.

"You can't be serious Joey!" Tristan said.

"I've never been more serious," Joey responded, "Don't you see? This is my chance to prove myself, to show everybody! Don't forget, Gramps trained me; I mean sure, Gramps never got a chance to finish my training, and granted, I wish I had a chance to practice a bit more before being thrown into a tournament this big with so many heavy hitters; but honest, I think I can take her."

Tristan looked at the ground, "You better be right, for your sister's sake,"

"Yeah, don't screw this up Joey," Tea agreed.

"I accept, let's duel!" Joey said to Mai.

"Get ready to lose!" she said.

Joey and Mai took their places on the field.

"Go get her Joey!" Tea cheered.

"Kick her butt!" Tristan added.

"Yeah!" Joey said.

"He'll do fine," Yugi said quietly.

"Yeah," Golden said.

Mai took one star chip off her gauntlet, "Since you only have one measly star chip, I only have to bet one of mine against you,"

They placed their star chips down. Golden's collar glowed as she heard Joey's cards speak. They were all really psyched that they were having an important duel, and glad that they would at least have a field advantage. In other words, they all had complete faith that Joey would win.

Joey glanced at the field, "Oh no! What're all those mountains doin' on my field?" he cried.

"The field we'll battle on is 40% forest, 40% mountain and the last 20% is meadow, so deal with it or surrender!" Mai explained.

"Calm down Joey, you'll be okay! You're monsters will still get a field power bonus on the meadow part of the field!" Yugi called.

"Oh yeah," Joey said, then faced Mai, "Listen Mai, not for nothing but I gotta' ask you one question before we duel."

Mai looked confused, "What?" she asked.

"Why did you decide to take part in this tournament?" Joey asked, "Tell me Mai, why is it you duel?"

Mai smiled, "Why do I duel?" she asked, "For all the comforts that I crave; designer clothes, travel perks, anything to avoid real work! Hot cars, turbo charged for living large!" she answered excitedly.

Joey smirked, "So that's why you want the prize money? How selfish!" he scoffed.

"How dare you try and judge me! Who do you think you are you pathetic little snot!" Mai snapped.

"Hey, you're only dueling for things, but for your information, some of us fight for the people we love." Joey said.

Golden jumped off Yugi's back and smiled; Joey was going to win this, she could feel it.

"You'll show her Joey, show Mai what it's like to duel from the heart!" Yugi said.

"Duel!" Mai and Joey yelled.

Joey scanned the cards in his hand and picked one, "So to start things off, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman!"

The warrior appeared on the field, ready to fight,

"The field power bonus will raise his attack by over 300 points!" he added as the monsters attack increased from 1100 to 1430, "Hey! I made my first move!" Joey said smiling.

Mai smirked and placed all her cards face down in front of her. She closed her eyes and waved her hand over them while making a humming noise. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"What do you think you're doing?" Joey asked.

Mai opened her eyes, "Divining my card, I have to mystically choose which one's the best," she answered.

Joey flinched, "What are you a psychic?" he asked.

Golden felt Joey's spirit shiver, Mai was making him lose focus. He had to pull himself together now, or he would be in trouble. Golden could tell Yugi was thinking the same thing.

"And the best card would be," Mai's hand stopped over one card and she opened her eyes, "The Harpies Lady!" she said and the monster appeared on the field. "Her strength is boosted by the mountain's field power bonus!" Mai added as her monsters attack rose from 1300 to 1690.

"Uh-oh," Golden said under her breath.

"I'll still take it on! Attack!" Joey yelled.

His legendary swordsman drew his sword and ran towards Harpie Lady.

"Joey, wait! Land monsters are at a disadvantage against flying monsters!" Yugi called but it was too late.

The Harpie Lady had already spread her wings and taken to the skies far above Masaki.

"Monsters that can fly have a magical resistance against monsters that can only walk on the earth!" Yugi explained to a confused Joey.

"So Joey blew it already?" Tea asked.

"No, but he attacked too soon before he thought about what her monster was capable of," Yugi replied.

Harpie Lady flew back toward the earth and slashed Masaki to ribbons with her sharp talons,

"My samurai's sushi!" Joey cried as his life points dropped 1410.

Mai closed her eyes again and waved her hand over her cards again, "Oh cards, speak to me!" she said and slid a card face-down on the field after a moment, "I'll choose again without looking." She said mysteriously.

Joey tensed up, "How's she doing that?" he wondered.

"He's losing it," Tea said.

"Guess that mop-head wasn't ready for this duel," Tristan said.

"Hey, Joey! Think about what you're doing before you move again!" Yugi called, but it seemed that Joey wasn't even hearing them.

'Mai's really doing a good job of making Joey lose focus on the duel,' Golden thought, 'but how does she know what her cards are before she plays them? She can't have ESP, that's just ridiculous;' An idea came to Golden's mind, 'I hate to do it, but I'm sure Mai's cards have the answer,' Golden thought and allowed her collar to listen to the cards.

Meanwhile, Joey drew another card and placed it attack mode, "Tiger Axe!" he said as the tiger appeared on the field. "The field power bonus should raise his attack power so it can take on the Harpies Lady head to head!" Both monsters now had equal attack strength.

"You're not thinking! It's still resistant to magic!" Yugi warned.

"Right, Tiger Axe is just another handicapped land-based monster!" Mai confirmed as her Harpie lady destroyed Tiger Axe and decreased Joey's life points to 1020.

Joey groaned in frustration and Mai smiled, "It'll take stronger monsters than your land-based wimps to beat my Harpies Lady; now I'll play this lovely card without looking," Mai said as she slid another face-down card onto the field, "I'll give you a hint, it's an equipment magic card that will help me defeat your next card in one turn."

Joey's eyes widened, "Again with all that psychic stuff?" he asked.

He hesitated for a moment before placing his next card in defense mode. Golden had finished listening in on Mai's cards, and now everything made sense; Mai was nothing but a big fake, but it was up to Joey to prove it. It was his duel after all; he had to figure it out.

Mai smiled at Joey's next play, "Running scared are we?" she asked, "Well let me show you my surprise," Mai flipped over her magic card, "Cyber Shield to juice up my Harpies Lady!" The purple armor appeared on the monster as her attack points rose all the way to 2190.

"No!" Joey cried as the Harpie Lady easily destroyed his defending monster.

Mai laughed, "This is so much fun! In case you were wondering, the next you're planning to use won't work either."

Golden's ears perked as she heard Joey mutter to himself, "Mai has ESP, that has to be it; I'm gonna lose this duel and the chance to save my sister." He muttered.

"Calm down Joey! Just remember what Grandpa taught you about Duel Monsters!" Golden called.

"Don't let her rattle you; she's just trying to psych you out!" Tea called.

"Stay out of this!" Mai yelled at them, "Your brainless cheerleading isn't going to help him against the superior power of my Harpie Lady, don't you get it yet?" Mai asked, "Friendship doesn't win duels, never will, it hasn't helped him, he's defeated and he knows it!"

"Not true!" Tea said.

"No? I beg to differ," Mai said, "There can be only one champion. On this island in this game, someone can be your best friend today and your worst enemy tomorrow. Once the competition forces you to face each other in a duel, where's your friendship then? That's why the only person a duelist can trust is himself. I hope that your defeat today teaches you that lesson kid."

Joey began to shake even more.

"He's losing it!" Tristan said frantically.

"He needs help! Yugi, Golden; help him!" Tea cried.

The Millennium Puzzle and Collar began to glow as the beings inside both Yugi and Golden took their places.

"Don't listen to her Joey; we're here to help you just like you're always there for us!" Yugi called. Joey and Mai looked at Yugi in surprise,

"Trust me on this, she's just trying to divide and conquer a strategy that's been used for centuries; believe me, I know." Yugi said as a glowing eye appeared on his forehead;  
>Golden nodded as her eyes began to glow a golden color.<p>

"When you two get that look in your eyes I believe everything you say," Joey said, but Mai laughed,

"Do you really think Yugi wants you to be the grand-prize winner?" she asked. She leaned toward him, "He's a duelist too you know, to win you'll eventually have to take him on." She said.

"She's right, we will have to duel, we are a team, but I also have to win the contest for Serenity," Joey muttered as he thought about his beloved sister, "What do I do? Maybe Yugi's right about this thing. I have to stop listening to Mai's nonsense and start using my head." Joey squeezed his eyes shut trying to keep the tears back and began to think, "I just gotta focus on how to win the game."

Golden had heard every word he said. 'He's finally got his head in the game, he just needs to look before he leaps,' she thought.

"Let's go kid, it's your turn!" Mai called.

Joey opened his eyes and Golden could tell he had Mai's psychic act all figured out.

"I see through your card trick!" Joey said, "You sprayed all your cards with different perfumes, and by smelling each different scent you can tell which card is which even when they're face-down! So you don't have to look to play your card so you can psych the other player out!" Joey explained.

"No way! How could an amateur punk like you see through my aroma strategy? It's just impossible!" Mai cried.

Joey smiled, "I gotta admit Mai, you really had me buying in to the whole psychic powers shtick; I was too freaked out to think things through because of that, but you're not a psychic at all! You're just a big fake!" he yelled.

"Alright Joey!" Yugi called.

"I thought he would figure it out!" Golden said smiling.

Yugi looked down at her, "You knew about Mai's strategy?" he asked.

"Let's just say, Mai's cards are very talkative." Golden answered.

"Go get her Joey!" Tea called.

"You're the man!" Tristan cheered.

"Yugi, you were right!" Joey called back.

Mai on the other hand was getting even more steamed, "Just because you saw through my little psychic act, it doesn't mean you can defeat me in a duel!" she yelled.

"I think you're wrong," Joey said, "Before, you were winning by confusing me and trying to pit me against my friends, but now my mind is clear and I know who I can trust! All you got left are your cheap tricks and I won't fall for them anymore!" Joey picked his next card from his hand, "I'm gonna blast your Harpie Lady out of the sky with this! Baby Dragon!"

"Good choice Joey!" Golden called as the tiny monster appeared on the field.

Mai laughed, "That wimpy card is your grand play? I only wish it was worth some more so when I devastate you it would do more damage to your life points!" she said and picked another card, "My card will be Elegant Egotist! Its magic will make duplicates of my Harpie Lady!"

Her monster glowed as it split into three Harpie Ladies.

"Oh no!" Joey cried.

"Harpie Lady 1, 2, 3!" Mai said as the two new monsters appeared on the field.

"It's three times the trouble!" Joey cried.

"Now what? He was struggling when there was only one!" Tea said frantically.

"Don't give in Joey! You've still got all kinds of moves left!" Tristan called.

"Really? What moves would those be?" Tea asked.

"How should I know? Ask an expert, ask Yugi or Golden." Tristan said.

"It's Joey's duel, he has to figure it out," Yugi answered simply.

"He can't advance as a duelist if all the answers are always given to him," Golden agreed.

"I don't have any cards strong enough to defeat three Harpie Ladies," Joey said.

Mai laughed again, "And I'm going to keep using the magic of Elegant Egotist to double my Harpies again and again each turn! But while my Harpies multiply, I can't attack you, so it's your move. Of course soon, you'll be up against an army!"

Joey frowned, "An army of Harpies? How the heck am I supposed to fight an army?"

"Don't give up Joey!" Yugi called. Joey looked down at his friend.

"Think hard about her strategy, she's been only using one monster card and strengthening that one card with many magic cards." Yugi said.

Golden nodded, "But there's a serious flaw in her plan Joey," she added.

"Using magic on one card? That's true; she's just been juicing up her Harpie Ladies every turn, but if she has mostly magic cards, maybe the Harpie Ladies are her only monster cards; I bet if I can destroy her Harpies she won't have any monsters left to play." Joey said.

Golden nodded, "Exactly,"

"Now think; what card in your deck can help you win?" Yugi asked.

"Which of my cards, you tell me." Joey said.

He thought for a minute until the answer came to him, "The Time Wizard, this must be the tight spot Yugi was talking about. Now if I can just remember what Gramps taught me about how to use a magic card, it's my only chance, but do I have it in my hand?"

Joey looked at the cards in his hand while Mai was getting bored,

"If I had known how long it was going to take you to make a move I would've brought a magazine," she muttered.

"Uh-oh, the Time Wizard's not in my hand, I'm gonna have to draw for it," Joey slowly reached toward his deck, "But what if I don't get it? What if…?" he wondered out loud.

"Don't lose faith Joey! Your cards will help you in your time of need!" Golden called out.

Joey looked at the dog, "How do you know?" he asked.

Golden smiled, "They said it themselves, they have complete faith in you; all you have to do is trust yourself and believe in your cards like they believe in you. Trust me."

Joey nodded and touched the card on top of his deck, "Here I go, it's all or nothing!" he picked up the card and peeked at it, "Alright! It's the Time Wizard!" he yelled as he placed it on the clock robot appeared next to Baby Dragon.

"What good is that thing?" Mai asked.

"Don't you know?" Joey asked, "The Time Wizard can make time go faster, causing my Baby Dragon to grow into Thousand Dragon!" he explained.

Yugi smiled, "Right Joey, and that's not the only effect your Time Wizard will have,"

Golden nodded, "You can say that again,"

"Time Magic!" The Wizard said as it raised its time staff into the air.

"Baby Dragon, transform into Thousand Dragon!" Joey yelled as the tiny monster grew into a full sized dragon with 2400 attack points.

"So now you have a bigger dragon, big deal! My Harpie Ladies still have greater attack power! Attack my three Harpie sisters!" Mai yelled.

"I don't think so; look again." Golden said smiling.

Mai's eyes widened, "What? What happened to my Harie Ladies they've gotten so old!" she cried. The once beautiful monsters had transformed into three old ladies and their attack points had dropped back down to 1300.

Yugi laughed, "I warned you, a millennium has passed on the playing field and your Harpie Ladies have become old and decrepit. Face it Mai, time's running out for you and your ladies."

Mai now looked scared and Joey was still shocked by what had just happened, "I believed, and the cards came through for me! Awesome! Go Thousand Dragon! Attack with Inferno Flame Breath!" Joey yelled.

The enormous dragon shot a huge blast of fire from its nose, destroying all three Harpies at once and dropping Mai's life points all the way down to zero.

"He did it! Joey won!" Tea said happily.

"I knew you could do it!" Tristan called.

"Thanks guys!" Joey called. Yugi gave him a thumbs up and Golden winked at him.

"How? How could I ever lose to such an amateur?" Mai wondered.

"Hey, Mai," Joey said, "I tried to tell you, there's more to duel monsters then just kicking the other guys butt. If your ever gonna be a real champion, you gotta learn to care about someone other than yourself," Joey turned to Yugi, "Isn't that right Yugi? Golden?" he asked.

Yugi and Golden nodded and returned to their normal selves. Golden felt she was right about before; after this tournament is over, Joey will be a great duelist. 


End file.
